Taipei, June 13 (CNA) A communique from the Group of Seven summit in the United Kingdom on Sunday underscores the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, among a range of other pressing issues such as ending the COVID-19 pandemic and reinvigorating the economies of G7 countries.
"We reiterate the importance of maintaining a free and open Indo Pacific, which is inclusive and based on the rule of law. We underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues," the communique reads.
"We remain seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo and increase tensions."
Also in the communique, the G7 countries say they will promote their values, "including by calling on China to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, especially in relation to Xinjiang and those rights, freedoms and high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law."
In response, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that this is the first time the G7 summit has included words supporting Taiwan in its communique and the ministry expressed its appreciation to the G7 leaders for taking concrete action to show the importance they attach to cross-strait peace and stability.
The G7, an organization of leaders from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan opened this year's three-day summit in Cornwall, England on Friday.
The Taiwan Strait is considered one of the potential flashpoints in the region by security analysts, as cross-strait relations have continued to deteriorate following the re-election of President Tsai Ing-wen from the independent-leaning Democratic Progressive Party in 2020.
Since then, China's People's Liberation Army has increased military exercises near Taiwan and the intrusion of military planes into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
According to data from Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, the PLA flew more than 2,900 sorties into Taiwan's ADIZ in 2020 while more than 300 PLA sorties have occurred in the first five months of 2021.
The maneuvers of these Chinese military aircraft have often prompted Taiwan's Air Force to scramble its interceptors, raising the possibility of unplanned encounters.
On the sidelines of the G7 summit on Saturday, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also discussed the Taiwan Strait situation, among many global challenges, according to a press readout published by the White House.
