G7 meeting exposes Abe's 'hypocrisy,' hurts Sino-Japanese ties: analyst
China on Monday expressed its dismay over a statement released by the G7 foreign ministers voicing concerns over the East and South China Seas, calling such a move non-beneficial to the G7's future development.
"If the G7 wants to continue playing a major role in the world, it should take an attitude of seeking truth from the facts to handle the issues the international community is most concerned with at the moment," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told a daily news briefing.
"If the G7 is taken hostage by the selfish interests of certain countries, then this probably won't be beneficial to the G7's influence, role and future development."
In a statement Monday, the G7 foreign ministers voiced concerns over the situations in the East and South China Seas after the two-day meeting in Hiroshima, Japan.
The statement said that the seven countries "express strong opposition to any intimidating coercive or provocative unilateral actions that could alter the status quo and increase tensions," Reuters reported.
It did not mention China by name.
A similar statement was also issued in the 2015 G7 communiqué in Germany.
In an apparent reference to an upcoming international court ruling on a South China Sea arbitration filed by the Philippines, the foreign ministers also called on countries to observe international maritime laws and implement any binding judgments delivered by courts and tribunals, Reuters reported.
The statement made clear the principle, which China also supports, that "unilateral actions to change the status quo and threaten regional peace and stability [should be avoided]," Yang Bojiang, deputy director of Japanese studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday.
"[Japan's plan to raise the South China Sea issue in the G7 foreign ministers' agenda] contributed nothing to the improvement of current China-Japan relations but exposed the hypocrisy of Abe's policy toward China," Yang said.
On one hand, Abe has been calling for an improvement in its relationship with China while making moves such as hyping the South China Sea issue, where Japan is not directly involved, Yang said.
Tokyo's motive
On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, which was built in memory of the victims of the atomic bombing in 1945, along with his G7 counterparts.
The top U.S. diplomat told media that U.S. President Barack Obama wants to visit Hiroshima, but he could not confirm that a visit would take place during the G7 summit in Ise-Shima next month.
The seven nations also criticized North Korea for its recent nuclear and missile tests in the communiqué, which also addressed issues such as terrorism, the refugee crisis and climate change, Xinhua reported.
Convened in Hiroshima, the meeting was given extra historical and political meaning, Yang noted, adding that Japan's intention [of choosing Hiroshima] made people worry whether it wanted to disrupt people's recognition of history under the guise of advocating for world peace.
"The fundamental cause of World War II, Japanese militarism, shall also be reflected," said Liu Jiangyong, a professor at the Institute of International Studies of Tsinghua University, noting the Japanese government still owes an apology to victims of the country's aggression.
While it is understandable that Japan wanted to take this opportunity to impress upon the world a peace-loving image, "the voices within Japan to develop nuclear weapons using China and North Korea as an excuse need to be alerted," Liu said.
The Japanese government's efforts to promote nuclear non-proliferation through the G7 meeting also faced criticism from the Japanese people, who questioned whether it was just a show.
Earlier this month, the Abe administration said that the constitution does not ban Japan from having and using nuclear weapons.
In Hiroshima, dozens of people protested Sunday against the Japanese prime minister's "contradictory" words and actions on the nuclear issue as well as the controversial security law, Xinhua reported.
