Quad launches vaccine plan

cUS President Joe Biden, who has vowed to reinvigorate alliances in the face of growing worries about China, was set yesterday to speak virtually for around 90 minutes with the three nations' prime ministers.

Ahead of the talks, US officials said the so-called "Quad" nations have agreed to work together to produce up to one billion vaccine doses by 2022 as the world seeks to turn the page on the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The plan would see pharmaceutical hub India manufacturing the single-dose vaccine from US-based Johnson & Johnson backed by financial support from Japan, with Australia taking charge of shipments.

"What we've tried to put together is a broad-based approach that addresses the acute shortage of vaccines across Southeast Asia in particular," a US official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

US officials did not immediately specify target countries but the initiative comes as China, where the deadly virus was first detected in late 2019, works to transform its image into that of a global healer.

The Quad format has been growing for more than a decade, but yesterday's talks are the first at the leaders' level and come as all four democracies see relations with China deteriorate.

The Quad summit kicks off a flurry of such diplomacy.

Japan yesterday announced that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will become the first foreign leader to have White House talks with Biden. Conditions permitting, the trip will take place "as early as the first half of April," top government spokesman Katsunobu Kato told reporters.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are also paying a joint visit next week to both Japan and South Korea on their first foreign travel, with Austin continuing on to India.

After showcasing the alliance, Blinken and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet top Chinese officials in Alaska late next week in what the Biden administration has promised to be a blunt airing of US concerns.