G7 focus to be Beijing's squeeze of Taiwan

The Group of Seven's foreign ministers arrived in the Japanese resort town of Karuizawa yesterday for talks that look set to be dominated by China's pressure on Taiwan and Russia's war in Ukraine.

There will be no shortage of diplomatic and security challenges to discuss for the ministers, but regional events are likely to sharpen the focus on Asia.

The meeting comes days after China concluded major military drills around Taiwan and barred ships from an area north of the island yesterday.

On Thursday, North Korea launched what it said was a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile - the latest in a stepped-up barrage of tests to rattle nerves.

Host Japan is keen to ensure regional challenges top the agenda.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose government has revamped defense policy and spending in the face of growing Chinese power, has warned repeatedly that "Ukraine today could be east Asia tomorrow."

The G7 has regularly warned China against attempts to seize Taiwan, and individual members have sounded the alarm in recent days.

"A military escalation in the Taiwan Strait would be a horror scenario for the world," Germany's Annalena Baerbock said on Friday in Beijing.

But there will be renewed focus on the grouping's language after recent comments by French President Emmanuel Macron.

His insistence, after a trip to Beijing, that Europe should avoid "crises that aren't ours" has raised eyebrows and ire among Paris's allies while delighting Chinese officials.

Still, Macron's comments expose a reality for the G7 - Japan, the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Germany and the European Union - said Paul Nadeau, a professor of political science at the Japan campus of Philadelphia's Temple University.

"Each member of the G7 still wants a bit of autonomy in the way they pursue their relationship with China," he said.

Consensus for the G7 will be easier on Ukraine.

The group is likely to again demand Russia's immediate withdrawal and pledge continued support for Ukraine.

It already imposes hefty sanctions on Russia, so substantive new measures are not expected at Karuizawa.

But Russia's invasion and concerns about China have put renewed focus on economic security and the need to diversify supply chains.

Nuclear proliferation will also be up for discussion ahead of the leaders' summit in Hiroshima in May, where Kishida wants a push for a nuclear-free world to be central.