At the end of their meeting in Karuizawa, Japan, the G7 foreign ministers took a clear position against aggressive behavior by Russia and China. In their final statement on Tuesday, the chief diplomats of the seven leading industrial nations threatened countries that supported Russia’s war against Ukraine with a “high price”. At the same time, they announced further sanctions against Russia and condemned Moscow’s announcement to station nuclear weapons in Belarus as “unacceptable”. China accused Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and her colleagues from the USA, Canada, Japan, Great Britain, France and Italy of stoking tensions in the South China Sea. “There is no legal basis for China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea and we condemn China’s militarization activities in the region,” the statement said at the conclusion of the two-day G7 foreign ministers’ meeting.
Regarding the differences with China over Taiwan, it said: “There is no change in the basic positions of the G7 members on Taiwan.” This clarification apparently referred to fuss over statements by French President Emmanuel Macron. With a view to Taiwan and the growing tensions over this issue between Washington and Beijing, he recommended last week that the Europeans should avoid “crises that are not ours”. Europe must not be a “follower” on the Taiwan question and must be careful not to become a “vassal”.
Beijing regards Taiwan as a breakaway territory that it wants to reunite with the mainland – using military force if necessary. Tensions between the US and China have increased significantly recently, partly because of the Taiwan question. The final declaration by the G7 foreign ministers also includes a call for North Korea to refrain from any further testing of nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles. Otherwise there will be a “rapid, united and robust international response”. The G7 ministers also addressed the conflict in Sudan and the oppression of women by the radical Islamic Taliban.
