Less than two months into the presidency of Joe Biden, his administration has made clear its desire to tap into the potential of the Quad -- a grouping made up of the United States, Japan, Australia and India -- as a counterweight to China's rise.

At the Quad's first-ever summit meeting on Friday, Biden pitched the multilateral forum as "a vital arena" for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, raising hopes for increasing its role in the region to address issues ranging from the coronavirus pandemic and climate change to technology and maritime security.