WASHINGTON—President Biden spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, discussing regional security issues that revolve around China and the upheaval in Myanmar, the White House said.
The two leaders agreed to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, “including support for freedom of navigation, territorial integrity, and a stronger regional architecture through the Quad,” the White House said in a statement about the call, referring to the four-nation group that also includes Japan and Australia.
Although China wasn’t mentioned by the White House, increased Chinese patrols around Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea last year steered the democracies toward heightened cooperation. The Quad reformed in 2017 in part to address a rising China.
The Chinese embassy in Washington didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Indian government said in a statement the leaders “discussed at length regional developments and the wider geo-political context” and “reiterated the importance of working with like-minded countries to ensure a rules-based international order and a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.”
Messrs. Biden and Modi also discussed the upheaval in Myanmar as well as Covid-19 and climate change, according to the White House.