US President Joe Biden and his three group partners did not name China on Saturday, but the superpower was clearly the subject of language in a joint statement calling for “peace and stability in the maritime domain. Indo-Pacific”.

“We strongly oppose destabilization or unilateral actions aimed at altering the status quo by force or coercion,” the statement said, using diplomatic language that appears to refer to China’s economic tactics to gain influence. on poor countries as well as its military expansion in these countries. . Peaceful.

“We express our deep concern over the militarization of the contested elements, the harmful use of Coast Guard vessels and maritime militias, and attempts to interfere with the offshore resource exploitation activities of other countries” , the statement added, clearly referring to China’s construction of bases on the former offshore reef beach. and harassment of non-Chinese vessels in disputed waters.

Quad leaders held their meeting as they gathered in Hiroshima for the Group 7 summit.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to welcome Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Sydney next week.

However, Biden pulled out, saying he is expected to return to Washington from Japan on Sunday to negotiate with Republican opponents over the US debt ceiling.

Biden apologized for forcing the change of plans and invited Albanians for a state visit to the White House.

In their statement, they highlighted Quad’s support for infrastructure upgrades in the vast Asia-Pacific region, while saying, in another dig in China, that they wanted to help with such investments but “would not impose not an unsustainable debt burden” to aid recipients. . .

Among the projects put forward by Quad executives was “the urgent need to support a quality submarine cable network in the Indo-Pacific, which is key to global growth and prosperity.” . They announced a partnership aimed at leveraging their countries’ expertise in the dedicated submarine cable sector.

They also said an existing pilot program to monitor high-tech illegal fishing would be expanded.

And they said they were “deeply concerned” about the crackdown in Myanmar, and they condemned “the launches of ballistic missiles and the pursuit of nuclear weapons by North Korea in violation of various UN Security Council resolutions “.

Kishida warned that the security environment had become increasingly difficult since the alliance last met last year. Modi has announced that the next four-nation summit will be held in India in 2024.