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US President Barack Obama waves with Chad President Idriss Deby Itno, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and French President Francois Hollande for the ‘Outreach Session’ family photo. Photo: AFP

G7 leaders express ‘concern’ about East and South China Sea disputes in closing statement

G7

The leaders of the Group of Seven advanced democracies on Friday said they are worried over rising maritime tensions in Asia and called for disputes to be resolved without resort to force.

“We are concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas, and emphasise the fundamental importance of peaceful management and settlement of disputes,” they said in a statement at the end of a two-day summit, though refrained from mentioning any individual countries by name.

Their declaration comes as tensions have risen over competing claims in the South China Sea, a strategic body of water that encompasses key global shipping lanes and which is claimed in nearly its entirety by China.

Beijing’s encompassing claims and ongoing militarisation of islets and outcrops there has angered some of its Southeast Asian neighbours, including the Philippines and Vietnam.

Leaders of the Group of Seven nations line up for a family photo with other invited world leaders. Photo: AFP

China is also locked in a dispute with G7 host Japan over rocky outcroppings in the East China Sea, stoking broader concerns about the country’s growing regional might and threats to back up its claims with force, if necessary.

The G7, which groups the United States, Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Canada, also reiterated that settlement of disputes should be “peaceful” and “freedom of navigation and overflight” should be respected.

The leaders also said that claims should be made based on international law and countries should refrain from “unilateral actions which could increase tensions” while also avoiding “force or coercion in trying to drive their claims”.

The statement, seen as being aimed at China, comes one day after Beijing asked the G7 not to discuss disputes in the region.

French President Francois Hollande at the G7 Summit. Photo: AFP

Pumping up the world economy is an “urgent priority” G7 leaders said, but left the door open for a go-your-own-way approach in a sign of lingering divisions over how to boost growth.

They endorsed a pick-and-mix approach to dealing with the malaise that has lingered since the global financial crisis struck in 2008.

“Global growth is our urgent priority,” the G7 said in a final statement.

“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 strained consensus reflects behind-the-scenes clashes that erupted on Thursday, with disputes over just how bad things actually are.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Photo: AFP

In a plenary session Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe argued that the global economy faced a risk of falling into a “crisis”, and drew comparisons with the mood when Japan last hosted a G7, in 2008, just months ahead of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

“To that, one leader questioned whether the degree of the current situation was negative enough to use the term ‘crisis’,” a senior Japanese official said.

That leader was Angela Merkel, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said Friday.

The German chancellor has repeatedly pushed back against the notion that the world’s big industrial democracies need to spend their way out of the current slowdown, advocating instead a paying down of debt.

Leaders were, however, unequivocal on their attitude to one of the headwinds facing the global economy, and came out firmly against so-called “Brexit”.

“A UK exit form 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 in a declaration after two-days of talks.

European Council President Donald Tusk and German Chancellor Angela Merkel gather to participate in a G7 Working Session. Photo: Reuters

The grouping – the United States, Germany, Japan, Britain, Italy, France and Canada – found easy common ground on the hot-button issue of refugees, and agreed it was a worldwide problem.

“The G7 recognises the ongoing large scale movements of migrants and refugees as a global challenge which requires a global response,” the leaders said in a statement.

Last year, some 1.3 million refugees, mostly from conflict-ridden Syria and Iraq, asked for asylum in the European Union – more than a third of them in Germany.

“We commit to increase global assistance to meet immediate and long-term needs of refugees and other displaced persons as well as their host communities, they said.

“The G7 encourages international financial institutions and bilateral donors to bolster their financial and technical assistance.”

Merkel told reporters the G7 had decided to dedicate its attention this year “especially to Iraq” -- one of the chief sources of the tide of migrants fleeing conflict and seeking refuge in Europe.

She said the grouping would provide 3.6 billion euros.

“We are convinced that Iraq needs to be stabilised. We want to support the efforts of Prime Minister (Haider) al-Abadi,” she told a press conference.

Leaders of the Group of Seven nations at the summit. Photo: AFP

The leaders also agreed that they will aim for the Paris climate agreement to go into effect by the end of the year, a Japanese senior government spokesman said.

“G7 countries need to work together and spearhead effort toward the early entry into effect and effective implementation of the historic Paris accord,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroshige Seko quoted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as telling other G7 leaders.

Last December in Paris, almost 200 nations agreed a sweeping plan to end global dependence on fossil fuels.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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