The leaders of Japan, India, Australia and the United States met in Tokyo on Tuesday, looking to put China on notice as it expands its military and economic influence in the region.
The summit of the group called the Quad comes a day after US President Joe Biden said Washington would be ready to intervene militarily to defend Taiwan, prompting China to accuse him of playing with fire Tuesday. The gathering is expected to produce fewer fireworks but still be clearly directed at China.
As the Quad summit began, Biden said that it was about democracy versus autocracies, and we have to make sure we deliver.
There is growing regional discomfort with Chinese military activity, including sorties, naval exercises and encroachments by fishing vessels that are seen as probing regional defences and red lines.
China's efforts to build ties with Pacific nations, including the Solomon Islands, were a concern that sealed a wide-ranging security pact with Beijing last month.
China's foreign minister will visit the Solomon Islands this week, with reports suggesting he could add other countries including Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga and Kiribati.
In a nod to those concerns, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has urged Quad members to listen carefully to regional neighbours, including the Pacific islands, to help deal with the immediate challenges they face. Without walking together with countries in the region, the Quad cannot be successful, he said.
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged more support for Pacific nations, including aid to deepen our defence and maritime cooperation. The Quad nations are expected to agree Tuesday on a deal to monitor regional maritime movement, a White House official said.
The major initiative will track what is going on in countries' territorial waters and exclusive economic zones, the official told reporters.
Collected data will be unclassified and shared with a wide range of partners to help monitor activities like illegal fishing.
Biden, Kishida, Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be looking to present a united front, but there are divisions behind the scenes.
India is the only Quad member that has not condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and Biden has repeatedly described a strong response to Moscow as a deterrent to other nations considering military action - like China.
The US strategy is for a free, open, secure, and resilient Indo-Pacific. Russia's attack on Ukraine only heightens the importance of those goals -- the fundamental principles of the international order, he said.
Biden will meet Modi and Albanese one-on-one later Tuesday and is aware that India has its own history, according to a White House official.
How they're addressed and how they're managed is a question. The president is very much of the opinion that the way to have candid, direct conversations is the best way to do this," he said.
India is expected to adopt a more softer overall tone to any joint Quad statement, shying away from the more muscular language used by Washington, Canberra and Tokyo in recent months.
Biden said the grouping was of growing importance, calling it a central partnership.
In a short time, we've shown that the Quad isn't just a passing fad. He said we mean business.
The threat that North Korea could be planning to launch missiles or even a nuclear test has been raised by the regional tour.
Speculation that a launch could happen when Biden was in Seoul did not materialise, but Washington has said it remains prepared and Pyongyang's missile programme is likely to be on the Quad agenda.