Quad summit: Joe Biden overheard talking about China’s agression in hot mic moment

Joe Biden has been overheard saying China’s aggression was ‘testing us’ during a hot mic moment as world leaders, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, talked privately at the Quad Summit in the US.

Joe Biden has told his Quad counterparts that Beijing’s increasing aggression is designed to test them, in a hot mic moment that undercut the White House’s claim that the summit was not about China.

The leaders including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese thought their private talks had begun – in a hall at the US President’s old high school in Wilmington, Delaware – when the hot mic revealed China was the first item on the agenda.

Mr Biden, unaware that reporters could still hear him, said China’s aggression was “testing us all across the region, and it’s true in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, South China, South Asia and the Taiwan Straits”.

He described Beijing’s actions as a “change in tactic, not a change in strategy”.

“At least from our perspective, we believe (Chinese President) Xi Jinping is looking to focus on domestic economic challenges and minimise the turbulence in China’s diplomatic relationships,” Mr Biden said.

“He’s also looking to buy himself some diplomatic space, in my view, to aggressively pursue China’s interest.”

US President Joe Biden with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Quadrilateral Summit in Wilmington, Delaware on Sunday. Picture: Brendan Smialowski / AFP

Prior to the summit, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian accused the Quad of “scaremongering, inciting antagonism and confrontation, and holding back other countries’ development”.

But Mr Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan had maintained it was not “directed at another country”.

A senior Biden administration official played down the hot mic moment by saying it was “not surprising that China would have been on the agenda”.

The leaders later released a joint statement on the outcomes of their fourth in-person summit, in which they expressed serious concerns about China’s “coercive and intimidating manoeuvres” and its militarisation of islands in the South China Sea.

“We are steadfast in our conviction that international law, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the maintenance of peace, safety, security and stability in the maritime domain, underpin the sustainable development and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific,” they said.

Mr Albanese speaks to reporters after meeting with US President Joe Biden and other world leaders during the Quadrilateral Summit at the Archmere Academy in Wilmington. Picture: Brendan Smialowski / AFP

Speaking after the summit, Mr Albanese spruiked a series of new security initiatives in the region, including a maritime awareness scheme to detect illicit activities and a joint coast guard mission between the Quad, which also includes India and Japan.

“The Quad doesn’t have a long history. That means it’s not defined by tradition, but it also means it’s not confined by it. It means that as it develops, it can evolve,” he said.

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti (left) and Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd arrive before US President Joe Biden makes an announcement about the Quadrilateral Cancer Moonshot. Picture: Brendan Smialowski / AFP

The leaders all reinforced that the grouping was designed to endure, despite imminent changes of government in the US, Japan and possibly Australia.

“While challenges will come and the world will change, the Quad is here to stay,” Mr Biden declared, as he described the four countries as “more strategically aligned than ever before”.

A day after becoming the first foreign leader to be hosted at Mr Biden’s home during his presidency, Mr Albanese told his counterparts while at the President’s high school that he was “absolutely certain that my headmaster would be shocked that I find myself here”.

Mr Biden said he was “really pleased you were in my home and got to see where I grew up”.

Originally published as Quad summit: Joe Biden overheard talking about China’s agression in hot mic moment