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India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during a 'Quad nations' meeting at the Leaders' Summit of the Quadrilateral Framework hosted by US President Joe Biden with Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in the East Room at the White House in Washington, US, Sep 24, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein) - 

President Joe Biden and the leaders of Australia, India and Japan highlighted their Quad group's role in safeguarding a stable, democratic Indo-Pacific on Friday (Sep 24) in a veiled dig at rival China.

The first in-person summit of the Quad marked Biden's latest effort to cement US leadership in Asia in the face of a rising China.

Meeting in the White House's ceremonial East Room, the four leaders discussed their COVID-19 vaccines drive, regional infrastructure, climate change and securing supply chains for the vital semiconductors used in computer technology.

And while China was not mentioned, the growing US rival loomed over much of the day.

"We liberal democracies believe in world order that favors freedom and we believe in a free and open Indo-Pacific because we know that's what delivers a strong, stable, and prosperous region," Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at the start of the summit.

That phrase "free and open" has become code for expressing the big regional powers' worry about swelling Chinese economic, diplomatic and military presence - including threats to vital international sea lanes.

"This event demonstrates the strong solidarity between our four nations and our unwavering commitment to the common vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific," Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed their countries' "shared democratic values."

Biden, who often talks about democracies needing to prove their capability in an age of powerful autocracies in Russia and China, told the Quad they were on the frontline.

"We're four major democracies with a long history of cooperation. We know how to get things done and we are up to the challenge," he said//CNA