Global Power Play: Why the Unlikely Quartet of Kim, Putin, and Two Other World Leaders are on Biden’s Radar

The Quad Summit, a security advisory body of four countries including the United States, Japan, Australia, and India, was held in Wilmington, Delaware, USA on the 21st (local time). This is the first time President Biden has invited a foreign leader to a summit in Wilmington, his political hometown and residence.

Wilmington Declaration Emphasizes Complete Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula

The leaders of the Quad, including US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanage, announced the ‘Wilmington Declaration’ which includes the content of the summit on this day. In particular, he once again emphasized the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and contained many phrases that kept the ‘North Korea-Russia honeymoon’ under control.

The statement said, “We call on all countries to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions, including banning the transfer of weapons and weapons-related materials to and procurement from North Korea.”

In addition, he said, “We express serious concerns about North Korea’s use of tools such as proliferation networks, malicious cyber activities, and sending workers abroad to finance its illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.”

Concerns about Threats from the East China Sea and South China Sea

There was also talk of the possibility that North Korea’s nuclear and missile technology could spread to other countries, or that Russia would provide North Korea with advanced military technology in exchange for North Korea’s supply of ammunition and missiles. The statement “stresses the need to prevent the proliferation (transfer) of nuclear and missile technology associated with North Korea in the region and beyond.”

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Quad Leaders Discuss Maritime Domain Awareness and Clean Energy Supply Chain

In addition to politics, diplomacy, and security, other cooperation measures were also included in the statement. In particular, the ‘Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness’ (IPMDA) was also an important item on the agenda of this meeting. Maritime zone awareness means ensuring the ability to recognize all situations that occur at sea in terms of security, economy, and the environment.

The statement also included investments in the public and private sectors to build a clean energy supply chain, strengthen cooperation in cyber security, and provide earth observation data and space-related applications to manage extreme weather events in Indo-Sea countries.

Quad Moonshot Partnership to Expand Cancer Conquest Project

In addition, it was worth noting that the ‘Quad Moonshot’ partnership, which expands the cancer conquest project ‘Cancer Moonshot’ promoted by the US government to the quad level, was noted.

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US President Joe Biden (right) and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) introduce Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the four-party summit held at Archmere Academy in Wilmington, Delaware on the 21st (local time).

President Biden’s Private Comments Targeting China Revealed

Meanwhile, at the press conference held after the Quad summit on this day, a situation occurred where President Biden’s private comments targeting China were revealed through a microphone (hot microphone) turned on.

After making opening remarks at the press conference, President Biden said, “China continues to behave aggressively, testing all of us across the region,” and added, “We believe that fierce diplomacy is needed for fierce competition.”