G7 Expresses Concern Over Situation In East And South China Sea

By Tengku Faezah Tengku Yusof ISE-SHIMA (Japan), May 28 (Bernama) -- The Group of Seven (G7) Friday expressed its concern over the situation in the East and South China Sea, emphasising the fundamental importance of peaceful management and settlement of disputes in the area. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said through the G7 Ise-Shima Leader's Declaration, the grouping Friday reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining a rules based maritime order in accordance with the principles of international law as reflected in the UNCLOS (The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). "G7 leaders reaffirm the importance of states' making and clarifying their claims based on international law, refraining from unilateral actions which could increase tensions and not using force or coercion in trying to drive their claims... "...and seeking to settle disputes by peaceful means including through juridical procedures including arbitration," Abe told a press conference at the end of the grouping's two-day Summit here Friday. Abe first advocated the three principles on maritime security at the 13th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Asian Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 2014. According to the G7 Ise-Shima Leader's Declaration, the G7 leaders also reaffirmed the importance of strengthening maritime safety and security, in particular to fight against piracy, through international and regional cooperation. Maritime security featured prominently during the G7 Summit, as well as the global economy, trade, foreign policy, countering terrorism and violent extremism, North Korea nuclear test issue and the Ukraine-Russia conflict. The leaders present at the Summit were United States President Barack Obama, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as well as President of the European Council Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Meanwhile, invited leaders for the outreach countries and international organisations from Republic of Chad, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, and Laos, as well as United Nations (UN), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) were also invited for the outreach session. The outreach session regarding the stability and prosperity of Asia and development of Africa was also discussed Friday. -- BERNAMA