When Joe Biden arrived in Asia last week for the first visit to the region of his presidency, he aimed to pick up where his predecessor left off. Landing in South Korea on May 20 as events in North Korea and the Ukraine crisis loomed large, Mr Biden then travelled to Tokyo for a meeting of an alliance of the US, Australia, Japan and India that aims to counter China's growing influence.
Since taking office in January last year, Mr Biden has given the Quad new momentum; the Tokyo meeting was the fourth such leaders' summit in just 14 months and the second in-person meeting following one at the White House last September.
The Quad leaders last Tuesday announced new initiatives on cybersecurity, space, vaccine distribution and a data-sharing partnership to monitor shipping routes in the South China Sea, an effort to combat China's aggressive maritime behaviour.
