President Joe Biden’s abrupt cancellation of his Asia-Pacific visit has left the region wondering about American steadfastness. The White House announced on Tuesday that Mr. Biden would cut short his trip and return to Washington for debt ceiling negotiations. This has raised fears of an unreliable and dysfunctional America in Asia and the Pacific, where the United States has only recently started to build momentum in its efforts to counter Chinese influence.
The cancellation has also postponed a meeting of the Quad nations – the United States, Japan, India and Australia – which had planned to meet in Sydney, and Pacific Island leaders in Papua New Guinea. It has also delayed or halted efforts to finalize a security agreement that, in early negotiations, involved the possibility of granting the U.S. military unfettered access to the lands and seas around a country that played a strategic role in World War II.
The cancellation has also put a damper on the hopes of Pacific Island leaders who had been summoned to Port Moresby to meet with Mr. Biden. They had prepared to leave their own domestic politics behind for the gathering, in some cases taking connecting flights to get there.
Now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had planned a visit to Papua New Guinea before Mr. Biden committed and then canceled, will be the focal point in Port Moresby and in Sydney. Around 20,000 people are expected to gather in Sydney’s Olympic Park for a bilateral celebration on Tuesday.