Who is winning the room? Who is winning the region? Joe Biden has inflation and an uphill battle to the midterms back home, but that is no bother for Indo-Pacific allies. Monday saw the launch of a regional trade partnership and plans for a partnership to stare down maritime threats. Tuesday will see a Tokyo summit of the Quad, which despite its denials, looks more and more like the far east's answer to NATO. The alliance brings together the leaders of the US, Japan, India and Australia.
We ask about the Quad's new guy, Australia's freshly-elected PM Anthony Albanese, and whether the language will be as blunt as with his predecessor.