China’s president-for-life,meanwhile,will be giddy with delight at the summit falling into disarray.
Biden flagged last week that he may have to stay in the US for emergency debt ceiling negotiations,but the official line from Washington and Canberra was the trip was going full-steam ahead. At 10.30pm on Tuesday,Albanese proudly announced Biden would address a joint sitting of parliament next week,seemingly confirming the trip was happening. Less than nine hours later,Biden had sent his apologies.
To add insult to injury,The New York Times and Reuters were reporting the visit was cancelled long before any official confirmation went out,as officials played for time,saying it was “under a cloud”.
A no-show from a United States president will never be a good news story,but the garbled messaging makes Biden’s dismount look especially messy. Adding to perceptions of a snub,he has found time to travel to the G7 summit in Hiroshima but not to Australia or Papua New Guinea.
Far more important than any hurt feelings it has caused,Biden’s withdrawal matters because of thedamaging message it sends to the Asia-Pacific about America’s commitment to the region as it fiercely competes with China for influence.
Beijing has loathed the Quad since its inception,blasting it as an “exclusive clique” and falsely characterising it as an “Asian NATO”.