Summit in the resort town of Karuizawa also comes amid concern that some European G7 leaders could be perceived as taking a weak stance over Beijing’s threats over Taiwan.
Foreign ministers of the
Group of Seven nations will focus on the security of both Europe
and the Indo-Pacific as they gather in Japan from Sunday against
a worrying backdrop of the war in Ukraine and China’s growing
assertiveness.
The three-day meeting in the resort town of Karuizawa also
comes amid concern that some European G7 leaders – notably
French President Emmanuel Macron – could be perceived as taking
a weak stance over Beijing’s threats over Taiwan.
China has in recent days held military drills around Taiwan,
which it claims as its own, and has never renounced the use of
force to bring the democratically-governed island under its
control.
“The security of Europe and that of the Indo-Pacific cannot
be discussed separately – they are intertwined with each other,”
a Japanese foreign ministry official said of the upcoming
meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The meeting – which includes ministers from the United
States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Canada, Italy and a
representative from the European Union – comes ahead of a
leaders summit that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will host in
Hiroshima next month.
Kishida visited Ukraine in March, at the same time China’s President Xi Jinping was meeting Russian President
Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
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Potential threat
The conflict there has triggered a rare outpouring of
support for Ukraine in pacifist Japan, with many Japanese seeing
Russia’s attack as highlighting the potential threat to nearby
Taiwan from an increasingly assertive China.
“Part of the reason why Japan has been so strong in
supporting Ukraine is because they want… broader Western
support when it comes to issues of East Asia,” said James DJ
Brown, professor of political science at Temple University in Japan.
Washington has been trying to build up G7 commitment on
further actions to deter China from taking steps to change the
self-ruled island’s political status quo, a US diplomatic
source told Reuters news agency on the condition of anonymity.
It will be doubly important for the G7 to reaffirm its
solidarity and support Ukraine given the doubts over Europe’s
stance towards China after Macron cautioned against being drawn
into any crisis over Taiwan, Brown said.
“The G7 has been an important partner in holding Russia
accountable for its aggression in Ukraine,” US State
Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Monday.
“I
have no doubt that the G7 will continue to play an important
role in that, including at the upcoming foreign ministers’
meeting.”
Security arrangements for the meeting were unchanged,
Japan’s foreign ministry said despite a brief scare on Saturday, when a
man threw a smoke bomb while Prime Minister Kishida was campaigning in western Japan.
The Japanese premier was unhurt and the suspect was arrested.
READ MORE: G7 seeks coordinated, aligned policies on Ukraine conflict, China
Source: Reuters
Europe, Indo-Pacific security in focus as G7 top diplomats gather in Japan
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