Leaders of the G7 nations met in sunny southern Italy last week for a three-day summit, accusing China in a joint statement of enabling Russia’s war against Ukraine, employing “dangerous” tactics in the South China Sea, enacting unfair trade policies, and sponsoring malicious cyber activity.
The 36-page communique focused mainly on the Russia-Ukraine War, the Middle East, and climate change, but devoted considerable ink to the Indo-Pacific.
The statement, though broadly critical of China, noted the group’s desire for “constructive and stable” relations with Beijing, and condemned, “in the strongest possible terms,” expanding military co-operation between North Korea and Russia. This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled to North Korea — his first visit since 2000 — and signed a mutual defence pact with Pyongyang.
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, who met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the margins of the G7 summit, chaired a leaders’ session on the Indo-Pacific. According to a Japanese readout, Kishida stated that “the security of the region and that of Europe are inseparable,” and pledged further G7 co-ordination to respond to Beijing's “policies ... that have caused market-distorting overproduction.”
Trudeau, Modi exchange words
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was an observer at the summit and took centre stage at the annual ‘family photo.’ Modi and Trudeau did not schedule an official meeting, but the two leaders did exchange greetings.
Modi issued a terse tweet following the chat, stating: “Met Canadian PM Justin Trudeau at the G7 Summit.” Trudeau was similarly tight-lipped at his media availability following the summit, sidestepping several questions about his meeting with Modi and Canada-India relations in general.
The discretion from both leaders suggests a desire to keep relations on an even keel. The ongoing court case related to the June 2023 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, however, is set to resume next week, potentially setting up a fraught stretch for Canada-India ties.
Next year, Canada will assume the G7 presidency and host leaders for a summit in Kananaskis, Alberta.
ASEAN split on Ukraine communique
Following the summit in Apulia, G7 leaders, with the exception of U.S. President Joe Biden, headed to Switzerland for the Summit on Peace in Ukraine. Russia was not invited to the summit and China chose not to attend.
Eighty-two delegations — including from Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Timor-Leste, and the U.S. — endorsed a brief communique outlining a “common vision” regarding the safety of nuclear installations, the exchange of prisoners-of-war, and food security.
India, Indonesia, and Thailand attended the summit but did not sign the communique. ASEAN members Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam chose not to attend.
The scant support from Southeast Asia may have frustrated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who, at last month’s Shangri-La Dialogue, urged leaders from the region to attend the peace summit.
