JAPAN, EU LEADERS CALL FOR PEACE, STABILITY ACROSS TAIWAN STRAIT

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and European Union (EU) leaders called for "peace and stability" across the Taiwan Strait, as mainland China steps up pressure on the self-governed island, Kyodo News reported.

In a joint statement following their virtual conference, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen joined Suga in encouraging the "peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues" while vowing to step up cooperation for a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

According to a Japanese Foreign Ministry official, it was the first-ever reference to Taiwan in a Japan-EU joint statement, using identical language to the statement issued after Suga's meeting with US President Joe Biden last month.

Suga and the EU leaders voiced serious concerns about the situation in waters surrounding China and said they "strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo and increase tensions."

Beijing has been stepping up its claim to the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, sending coast guard ships to nearby waters in what Tokyo sees as an attempt to exert control.

China has also carried on with the militarization of artificial islands in the South China Sea, where it has overlapping sovereignty claims with its neighbors. The EU is seeking to play a larger role in the Indo-Pacific, adopting a strategy last month for cooperation with partners in the region.

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