TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The U.S., Japan, Australia, and India will convene for the third time on Thursday (Feb. 18) for the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will meet virtually with Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne, Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi, and India’s Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar for the first time under the Biden administration. The gathering is a prelude to the Quad’s first meeting of leaders, which is expected to occur sometime later this year, according to the Financial Review.

It was announced by U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price at a regular press conference on Wednesday (Feb. 17). “This discussion with the Quad foreign ministers is critical to advancing our shared goals of a free and open Indo-Pacific and rising to the defining challenges of our times, including our efforts on COVID-19 response as well as climate change,” Price said.

The Quad has grown in importance as the four countries are increasingly concerned about China’s aggressiveness in the region, including territorial disputes with Japan and India and trade disputes with Australia.

President Joe Biden has stressed that the U.S. will work closely with allies to counter China’s growing influence in the world. Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed in a telephone call last week to bolster Indo-Pacific security through the Quad, according to Reuters.

Quad foreign ministers met last October in Japan, and the following month, the four countries held their largest joint naval exercise in over a decade. The Biden administration has also proposed an online summit of Quad leaders, with U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan describing the forum as “a foundation upon which to build substantial American policy in the Indo-Pacific region.”