Quad leaders have taken a swipe at China for its behavior during a summit in Japan’s Hiroshima.

The Quad leaders of Australia, Japan, India and US have taken a jibe during a Hiroshima summit on Saturday, mentioned a report in NDTV.

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

"We strongly oppose destabilizing or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion," it said the Quad leaders as having said.

It said: "We express serious concern at the militarization of disputed features, the dangerous use of coastguard and maritime militia vessels, and efforts to disrupt other countries' offshore resource exploitation activities”.

It referred to Chinese construction of bases on former offshore reefs and harassment of non-Chinese vessels in disputed waters.

The Quad leaders held their meeting while already gathered in Hiroshima for a Group of 7 summit, it said.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had been meant to host Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Sydney next week.?

However, Biden pulled out, saying he had to return to Washington from Japan on Sunday to negotiate with Republican opponents on the US debt ceiling, it said.

It added Biden apologised for forcing the change in plans and has invited Albanese to make a state visit to the White House.

In their statement, they stressed the Quad's support for infrastructure improvements across the vast Asia-Pacific region.