The G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union have expressed concern by recent and announced threatening actions by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Taiwan Strait after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the democratically governed island saying that live-fire exercises and economic coercion, which risk unnecessary escalation.
In a press release, G7 Foreign Ministers called on China not to unilaterally change the status quo by force in the region, and to resolve cross-Strait differences by peaceful means. The statement said there is no change in the respective one China policies, where applicable, and basic positions on Taiwan of the G7 members.
It further said there is no justification to use a visit as pretext for aggressive military activity in the Taiwan Strait. It is normal and routine for legislators from our countries to travel internationally. The PRC’s escalatory response risks increasing tensions and destabilizing the region.
G7 Foreign Ministers said we reaffirm our shared commitment to maintaining the rules-based international order, peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and beyond. “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 statement said.
Singapore on Wednesday also said it hopes the United States and China can exercise self-restraint and refrain from actions that will further escalate tensions amid concerning “cross-strait developments”. The 55th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) was convened in Phnom Penh, Cambodia at a time of “significant volatility and insecurity”, said Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in a press statement. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s defense ministry said it scrambled fighter jets on Wednesday to respond to 27 Chinese military aircraft that flew through its air defense zone.