The following is an excerpt from the op-ed, originally published in Project Syndicate, co-authored by ASPI Vice President Daniel Russel, Executive Director of ASPI's Center for China Analysis Bates Gill, and Senior Fellows Richard Maude, C. Raja Mohan, and Takako Hikotani.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision not to attend next week’s scheduled meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (the Quad) in order to continue his negotiations with U.S. Republicans over America’s debt ceiling in no way diminishes the importance of the meeting. A strategic coalition of the Indo-Pacific’s four leading democracies – Australia, India, Japan, and the United States – is quickly gaining depth and momentum. Although the Quad Leaders’ Summit, which was to be held in Sydney next week, has now been postponed, the progress it has been making is certain to continue.

Even though each member of the group has its own objectives, interests, and challenges to navigate, the effort to contain China’s own strategic ambitions in the Indo-Pacific is now a shared priority of all four states. Both individually and together, they must navigate the reality that China may not be contained without a willingness to fight.

Read the full op-ed in Project Syndicate.