G-7 backs India's concern on South China Sea

European Council president Donald Tusk, Italian PM Matteo Renzi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US President Barack Obama, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, French President Francois Hollande, British PM David Cameron, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker at the G-7 meeting (Reuters)

Last week, China had objected to the presence of Indian Navy ships in the region, days ahead of of President Pranab Mukherjee's four-day trip to the country.

India on Friday received diplomatic backing from G-7 leaders who, without naming China, expressed unease over territorial tensions in the East and South China seas. The Group of Seven industrial powers who met at Ise-Shima in Japan called for for respect for freedom of navigation and overflights and for resolving conflicts peacefully through law. The grouping established after 1970 oil crises, is an informal bloc of industrialised democracies -- the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom -- that meets annually to discuss issues such as global economic governance, international security, and energy policy.

Last week, China had objected to the presence of Indian Navy ships in the region, days ahead of of President Pranab Mukherjee's four-day trip to the country. While India is not a direct stakeholder in the South China Sea territorial disputes, the country has over the past few years been asking for upholding freedom of navigation and overflight in the region and speaking against the use of unilateral moves in the region that will impact stability in the area.

Beijing's claim to nearly the entire South China Sea has angered some of its Southeast Asian neighbours and sparked fears over threats to freedom of navigation in the body of water that encompasses key global shipping lanes. The Philippines, along with Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam also have competing claims in the expansive maritime area.

In their statement, the leaders also denounced protectionism and trade barriers and noted the negative impact of overcapacity in some industries. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said one of the biggest headaches, was a glut in China's steel industry. The meeting also addressed a wide range of issues, including terrorism and other risks to peace and global growth, the massive flows of refugees and migrants to Europe to escape conflict and poverty at home, global threats to public health, cybercrime, corruption and efforts to help girls and women.

In a statement following the two-day summit the leaders also cautioned Britain that its abandoning the European Union (EU) will throw the world economy into further crises. "A UK exit from the EU would reverse the trend towards greater global trade and investment, and the jobs they create, and is a further serious risk to growth," they said. The UK voters are preparing for a June 23 referendum to decide whether to stay in or leave the 28-country bloc.

The G-7 pledged to "collectively tackle" major risks to global growth and committed to a cooperative approach in beefing up policies to stimulate their sluggish economies. "Taking into account country-specific circumstances, we commit to strengthening our economic policy responses in a cooperative manner and to employing a more forceful and balanced policy mix, in order to swiftly achieve a strong, sustainable and balanced growth pattern," the G-7 statement said.

The G-7 demanded that North Korea fully comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions and halt nuclear tests, missile launches and other "provocative actions". The group also condemned Russia's "illegal annexation" of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. The declaration threatened "further restrictive measures" to raise the costs on Moscow but said sanctions could be rolled back if Russia implemented previous agreements and respected Ukraine's sovereignty.

(Source : dnaindia.com)

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