Top G7 diplomats in Japan meet with Ukraine, China

The top G7 diplomats arrived at the Japanese resort of Karuizawa on Sunday for talks set to be dominated by two crises: China’s rising pressure on Taiwan and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The foreign ministers arrived by special bullet train and held discussions to set the stage for a summit to be held in Hiroshima next month.

While there are many issues to discuss, recent regional events are likely to generate even more interest in Asia.

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The meeting came days after China wrapped up major military exercises around self-administered Taiwan and days after North Korea launched what it said was a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.

Host Japan is keen to make regional issues a top priority on the agenda, underscoring its belief that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has heightened the need for vigilance in Asia.

“Japan’s basic position on Ukraine is that European security and Indo-Pacific security cannot be discussed separately,” a Japanese official said ahead of the meeting.

“They are intertwined with each other.”

The G7 regularly warns China against attempts to occupy Taiwan, and individual members have sounded the alarm recently.

“A military escalation in the Taiwan Strait… would be a terrifying scenario for the whole world,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Beerbock said in Beijing on Friday.

But after recent comments by French President Emmanuel Macron, the group’s language will come back into focus.

After his visit to Beijing, he raised eyebrows and angered his allies in Paris by insisting that Europe should avoid a “crisis that is not ours.”

Paris worked to soften the reaction, arguing that France’s views had not changed, and most observers expected the group to repeat its previous position and warn China against “altering the status quo by force.” ing.

– “Freedom to Maneuver” –

Macron’s remarks nonetheless reflect the reality that Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Italy, Germany and members of the European Union want more room to intervene in China policy, experts said. says the house.

And that means keeping the door open to cooperation, said Josep Borrell, the European Union’s head of foreign policy, who is attending remotely after testing positive for Covid. I got

“China is becoming more and more assertive, but we must continue to engage with China and seek solutions to global challenges,” he told reporters.

A senior State Department official said the discussions reflected “collective concerns about the many actions China is taking” and focused on “how to stay fully aligned with a common and collaborative approach.” rice field.

The consensus for Ukraine would be simpler, but no substantive new measures are expected on top of existing sanctions by the bloc.

“We reinforce our commitment,” said Beerbok during a stop in Seoul before arriving in Japan.

“The problem is to show (Russian President Vladimir) Putin that he is determined not to achieve his goals through exhaustion and fatigue.”

Brock could endorse a war crimes tribunal and likely raise new concerns about Russia’s nuclear threat.

Russia’s aggression and rising concerns about China have put a renewed focus on economic security and the need to diversify supply chains for everything from energy to semiconductors.

Tokyo and Washington have warned of “economic coercion” and G7 ministers are expected to commit to measures to combat the problem.

The two-day conference will also address international crises, from the Taliban’s continued hold on Afghanistan to the military junta’s recent attacks in Myanmar.

Proliferation will also be discussed ahead of the summit in Hiroshima in May, where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hopes to make promoting a nuclear-free world a central topic. .

He called on Japan to step up security to protect the G7 event on Sunday, a day after he escaped unscathed when explosives were dropped during his election campaign.

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