Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The Group of Seven industrialised nations on Wednesday condemned military drills announced by China around Taiwan in the wake of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the self-ruled island, and expressed concern that the “threatening actions” by China risk unnecessary escalation. 

In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministers  of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, reaffirmed their “shared commitment to maintaining the rules-based international order, peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and beyond.”

“There is no justification to use a visit as pretext for aggressive military activity in the Taiwan Strait” and China’s “escalatory response risks increasing tensions and destabilising the region. It is normal and routine for legislators from our countries to travel internationally. China’s escalatory response risks increasing tensions and destabilizing the region,”, the G7 foreign ministers said in a statement.

The ministers called on the China “not to unilaterally change the status quo by force in the region, and to resolve cross-Strait differences by peaceful means.” They said there is no change in the respective one China policies, where applicable, and basic positions on Taiwan of the G7 members. 

“We reiterate our shared and steadfast commitment to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encourage all parties to remain calm, exercise restraint, act with transparency, and maintain open lines of communication to prevent misunderstanding,” the ministers said.