G7 diplomats meet in Japan, urged to engage China
Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers are on Monday expected to discuss the situation in Ukraine, North Korea and Taiwan as they meet in the Japanese resort town of Karuizawa. At a private working dinner on Sunday night that marked the diplomats’ first formal meeting, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi urged continued dialogue with China on the many global challenges where participation from Beijing is seen as crucial.  Leaders and foreign ministers of G7 countries, most recently France and Germany, have recently concluded visits to China, and the diplomats in Karuizawa are expected to discuss their impressions of where Beijing stands on numerous issues, including the war in Ukraine, North Korea and Taiwan. A senior US official travelling with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that the Biden administration’s goal for the talks is to shore up support for Ukraine, including a major initiative on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure launched at last year’s G7 gatherings in Germany, as well as to ensure the continued provision of military assistance to Kyiv. Separately, a US warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, in what the US Navy described as a "routine" transit. Beijing said it had tracked the USS Milius guided-missile destroyer through the strait, adding that Washington had "hyped up" the transit. Colonel Shi Yi, a Chinese military spokesman, said troops in the area "remain on a high level of alert at all times and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability". The US manoeuvre came days after Beijing ended three days of military exercises in the Taiwan Strait. (Agencies)