“We reaffirm the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and call for a peaceful solution to the problems in the Taiwan Strait,” said the closing statement on the deliberations of G7 foreign ministers in the West. -German city of Munster on Friday.
“We remind China of the need to uphold the principles of the UN Charter for the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes and to refrain from threats, coercion, intimidation or the use of force,” the G7 said. There is no change in G7 members’ base positions on Taiwan, including the One China policy, it said.
Beijing has repeatedly threatened to take the island’s democratic republic militarily if the Taiwanese resist peaceful “unification”. The communist leadership considers the island part of the People’s Republic. Taiwan, on the other hand, has long considered itself independent.
“We reject all unilateral attempts to change the status quo through force or coercion,” the G7 said. It includes Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada, USA and Great Britain. Germany will remain chairman until the end of the year, followed by Japan next year.
At the same time, the G7 round foreign ministers stressed that they would seek “constructive cooperation with China” to the extent “possible and in our interest”. This is especially true for global challenges such as peace and security, global health, the climate crisis and the conservation of natural resources. These can only be successfully overcome through cooperation within the framework of the rules-based international order.
In their final statement, the G7 countries also expressed concern about China’s human rights violations, including in Tibet and Xinjiang province, where the predominantly Muslim Uyghur minority complained of torture and oppression. “We reiterate our concern at the continued erosion of Hong Kong’s rights, freedoms and autonomy and call on China to act in accordance with its international obligations and legal obligations,” the statement said.
(SDA)