Foreign Ministers from the Group of Seven leading economies expressed concern over territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas where China has been more aggressively asserting its claims in recent years.
"We are concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas, and emphasize the fundamental importance of peaceful management and settlement of disputes,” the ministers said in a joint statement at the end of a two-day meeting in Hiroshima.
“We express our strong opposition to any intimidating, coercive or provocative unilateral actions that could alter the status quo and increase tensions, and urge all states to refrain from such actions as land reclamations, including large scale ones, building out outposts, as well as their use for military purposes and to act in accordance with international law including the principles of freedoms of navigation and overflight.”
