Without mentioning China, the leaders of four major democracies – the United States, India, Japan and Australia – have reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region that “will not let go.

United States President Joe Biden hosted the Quad Leaders Summit Friday, where the Prime Ministers of India, Japan and Australia gathered for their first face-to-face meeting in Washington, DC.

“Together we undertake again to promote a free, open and rule-based order that is anchored in international law and fearless by coercion, in order to increase security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.”, Biden, together with the Indian Narendra Modi, This is what the Japanese Yoshihide Suga and the Australian Scott Morrison said in a joint statement.

China and its growing influence in the region were not mentioned in the statement as the country increasingly asserts itself in the hotly contested South and East China Seas and regularly patrols there.

“We defend the rule of law, the freedom of navigation and overflight, the peaceful settlement of disputes, democratic values ​​and the territorial integrity of states,” they added.

The four countries have an alliance called Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad, which works for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

In some circles the quad is popular because of the in recent years increasingly aggressive movements in the East and South China Seas.

Have quad members took part in joint naval exercises and intensified defense partnerships with one another.

However, the group avoided explicitly mentioning China in their public statements and instead focused on common topics such as Covid-19 and global health, infrastructure and climate change.

More here: Read the full report on CNBC’s Quad Project, including data visualizations, maps, and a timeline

Beijing’s presence, however, remains an overhang.

China’s presence is felt in any initiatives Quad member states want to pursue, including vaccine diplomacy, infrastructure, technology cooperation and maritime security, said Harsh Pant, director of the strategic study program at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

“The idea is that these countries offer an alternative to what the Chinese are trying to deliver through their own model,” Pant told CNBC on Monday. For many small Indo-Pacific states, there is currently a choice between filing a lawsuit against China or nothing, he said.

Beijing has an ambitious Belt and Road initiative aimed at expanding China’s global influence by building rail and sea trade routes that connect the country with Central Asia, Europe and Africa.

For its part, China believes the Quad alliance is “doomed”.

“A closed and exclusive clique targeting other countries goes against the trend of the times and the aspirations of countries in the region,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian during the meeting.

“He will find no support and is doomed to fail,” he added.

The quads announced a number of new initiatives on Friday and promised to meet existing commitments.

You understand:

Vaccines against Covid-19
The United States, India, Japan and Australia have pledged to donate more than 1.2 billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine worldwide – in addition to the injections the four countries have already funded through the International Vaccine Access Mechanism for low-income countries . known as Covax. India, one of the largest vaccine manufacturers in the world, has announced that it will resume exporting vaccines from next month.

Quad infrastructure coordination group
The leaders announced a group that will coordinate efforts to build quality infrastructure and provide technical assistance to regional partners to meet the infrastructure needs of the Indo-Pacific region.

Fight against climate change
The fight against climate change was one of the main discussion topics of the Quad. The group announced several measures, including the creation of an ecological transport network, calling on the main ports of each country to work together to reduce carbon emissions from the maritime transport value chain.

Critical and New Technologies
Regarding critical and emerging technologies like 5G, the Quad has announced plans to implement a semiconductor supply chain initiative to identify and identify vulnerabilities and secure access to semiconductors and their vital components.

place
The four countries plan to collaborate on space technology by setting up a new working group to discuss ways to share Earth observation satellite data and risk analysis for climate change.