G7 condemns China’s “illicit, dangerous” maritime actions in Indo-Pacific

Washington DC: The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries have condemned China’s aggressive maritime actions in the Indo-Pacific region.

“We condemn China’s illicit, provocative, coercive and dangerous actions that seek unilaterally to alter the status quo in such a way as to risk undermining the stability of regions, including through land reclamations, and building of outposts, as well as their use for military purpose,” the statement read.

The ministers of the advanced economies who gathered in Canada on Friday noted growing concern at recent, unjustifiable efforts to “expand jurisdiction through use of force and other forms of coercion,” including across the Taiwan Strait, and in the South China Sea, the Red Sea, and the Black Sea.

The ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union, renewed their opposition to any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo “by force or coercion.”

The joint statement also condemned the increasing use of “dangerous vessel maneuvers and water cannons,” the indiscriminate attacks against commercial vessels, and other maritime actions that undermine the maritime order based on the rule of law and international law.

They expressed concern over the increasing use of dangerous maneuvers and water cannons against Philippine and Vietnamese vessels as well as efforts to restrict freedom of navigation and overflight through militarization and coercion in the South China Sea, in violation of international law.

Beijing announced its “Nine-Dashed Line” claim in the South China Sea in 2009. In a unanimous decision on July 12, 2016, an Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention–to which China is a State Party–rejected much of China’s South China Sea maritime claims as having no basis in international law.

The G7 countries expressed concern with “China’s military build-up and the continued, rapid increase in China’s nuclear weapons arsenal.

They called on China to engage in strategic risk reduction discussions and promote stability through transparency.

Through the joint statement, the G7 countries expressed concerns about “China’s non-market policies and practices” that are leading to “harmful overcapacity and market distortions.”

G7 members further called on China to refrain from adopting export control measures that could lead to significant supply chain disruptions. They reiterated that they are not trying to harm China or thwart its economic growth, indeed a growing China that plays by international rules and norms would be of global interest.

The G7 group also reaffirmed that their “basic policies on Taiwan remain unchanged” and highlighted that of “peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” is indispensable to international security and prosperity.

The ministers who convened in the tourist town of La Malbaie, in the Quebec hills on Thursday and Friday also discussed efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, regional peace and stability in West Asia, peace in Sudan and Congo, the violence in Haiti and Venezuela among others.