Biden says China 'testing us,' in hot mic remarks to Quad allies

TDT | Manama

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US President Joe Biden was caught on a hot mic Saturday telling the leaders of Australia, India and Japan that an aggressive China is "testing us," in remarks that risked undercutting a summit declaration that carefully avoided mentioning Beijing by name.

The comments came as Biden opened a farewell summit in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

"China continues to behave aggressively, testing us all across the region," Biden was heard in what were supposed to be behind-closed-doors remarks to the so-called "Quad."

Biden said that while Chinese President Xi Jinping was focusing on "domestic economic challenges" he was also "looking to buy himself some diplomatic space, in my view, to aggressively pursue China's interest."

But he insisted that recent "intense efforts" by Washington to reduce tensions, including a call with Xi in April, were helping to prevent conflict.

The hot mic blunder risked undermining careful diplomatic efforts by all four countries during the summit to insist that their grouping is about more than just providing a counterweight to China.