China singled out at EU-Japan summit
China, a top trading partner of both Japan and the EU, came under fire during a summit between Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.
In a joint statement released following the EU-Japan summit, the two sides reiterated their opposition to 'any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion' in the East and South China seas –– a nod to Beijing's growing assertiveness in contested waters –– and called for the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law.
They also underscored 'the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,' calling for the 'peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues,' which they said remains 'indispensable to security and prosperity in the international community.'
China's military moves in the Indo-Pacific, especially its designs on democratic Taiwan, have unnerved both Tokyo and Brussels. Beijing refers to Taiwan as its 'core of core issues' and claims the island as a renegade province that must be united with the mainland, by force if necessary.
The Chinese military has been testing Tokyo's response and the Self-Defense Forces' capabilities by conducting a series of military exercises that Japanese defense officials have said are practice for the possibility of conflict over Taiwan. The moves have prompted multiple close encounters between the Chinese military and the SDF in recent weeks.
'Given the current international situation ... close cooperation and coordination with the EU — which shares our values and principles — is becoming more important than ever,' Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya told a news conference Tuesday, ahead of the EU-Japan meeting.
Japan, meanwhile, was referred to by EU officials as the bloc's "closest strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific region,' with the two sides launching a new trade 'alliance' and pushing for deeper defense industrial ties.
The tangible results of the EU-Japan summit are expected to contrast sharply with the limited hopes for any deliverables in the bloc's meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Thursday in Beijing, where even a joint statement is not expected, media reports quoting European officials said.
Ties between the EU and China have deteriorated since the COVID-19 pandemic, with European complaints focused on Beijing's 'unfair' trade practices and its support for Moscow.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been a key driver of animosity between the two sides.
For Brussels, cooperation between Chinese and Russian firms that supports Moscow's military industrial complex — despite onerous European sanctions — has been a particular bone of contention. On Friday, the EU said that it had for the first time sanctioned two Chinese banks and five China-based companies as part of its latest measures against Moscow over the Ukraine war.
In their joint statement, the EU and Japan delivered thinly veiled criticism of the Chinese government's implicit support for the Russian war effort, backing that has provided Moscow with a critical lifeline for its ongoing war in Ukraine.
The two sides condemned 'third parties and actors' enabling Russia to sustain its 'war of aggression' against Ukraine, and urged all parties to 'immediately cease any such direct or indirect assistance to Russia,' including efforts to circumvent sanctions and supply dual-use materials to Moscow.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, speaking in an interview Wednesday, ahead of the EU-Japan summit, called China 'the key enabler of Russia's war in Ukraine.'
Kallas said that while Beijing had said it hopes to improve ties with Brussels, this cooperation must be addressed.
'If our biggest threat is coming from Russia, then why do you (China) support them?' she asked rhetorically. 'Because they are hurting us. If you want good relations with us, you can't have it both ways.'
Kallas' remarks come after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told the top EU diplomat earlier this month that Beijing did not want to see a Russian loss in Ukraine because it feared the United States would then shift its whole focus to Beijing.
The EU and Japan also had strong words for Moscow's security cooperation with Pyongyang, which sent an estimated 14,000 troops to Russia's Kursk region in a successful effort to dislodge Ukrainian forces that had taken over the Russian territory.
'We share the concern that any support from Russia to North Korea may exacerbate the already tense environment on the Korean Peninsula,' the joint statement said. 'We urge Russia and North Korea to immediately cease all such activities and abide by the U.N. Charter and all relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.'
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