The worsening conflict between Israel and Hamas — and the Group of Seven nations’ collective response to it — is set to take center stage when the G7 foreign ministers gather for a two-day meeting in Tokyo this week.
The top diplomats will hold talks Tuesday and Wednesday, as Japan, which holds this year’s G7 presidency, aims to further align the bloc’s responses to Israel’s war on Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip amid growing calls for a humanitarian pause in the fighting.
Israel has so far rejected repeated international pleas for a temporary cease-fire, vowing to continue its air, land and sea offensive until Hamas releases the hostages it holds. Tel Aviv says Hamas killed 1,400 people during the Oct. 7 attacks and took more than 240 others captive.
Many countries, including France and Japan, have called for an immediate truce, with Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa flying to Tel Aviv last week to emphasize the urgent need to enable humanitarian operations.
Washington is also in favor of a humanitarian pause but has so far rejected pleas for a complete cease-fire, arguing that such a move would leave Hamas in place and allow it to regroup and carry out other attacks.
Meanwhile, the situation in Gaza continues to worsen, with the United Nations now describing it as “horrific” amid overflowing morgues, empty shops and abysmal sanitary conditions.
The G7’s position on the conflict has been overwhelmingly in support of Israel’s right to defend itself — something not expected to change at the summit — although Tokyo has also called on all parties involved to “act in accordance with international law and de-escalate the crisis.”
However, the group has yet to condemn what a growing number of countries view as Israel’s disproportionate response to the Hamas attack, a stance that has been criticized by many nations, particularly in the Global South, and deepened international fault lines that emerged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
And as the conflict lingers on, there are also mounting concerns that it may suck in other countries in the region — a scenario also likely to be discussed in Tokyo.
“The foreign ministers will seek to find ways to prevent the conflict’s spillover into a regional crisis as a destabilized Middle East would undermine global economic stability,” said Sebastian Maslow, an international relations lecturer at Sendai Shirayuri Women’s College.
Another conflict high on the G7 agenda will be the Ukraine war, with the ministers expected to emphasize their ongoing commitment to Kyiv. Experts say such an announcement will be “critical,” as Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia stalls and the country requires additional military assistance and support in several other areas.
“Without question, the issue of the disintegrating stability of the global security landscape will dominate discussions at the G7 ministerial,” said Roger Hilton, defense fellow at Slovakia-based think tank GLOBSEC.
Currently, G7 policymakers are faced with a litany of security threats that risk intensifying. This means that the challenges of marshaling resources to maintain material and financial support for Ukraine, as well as containing Israel’s response to Hamas within the current geographical confines, will be the two driving topics, he added.
A Ukrainian serviceman walks past a banner depicting Russia on fire with words “The evil empire must fall” in central Kyiv on Oct. 26. | AFP-JIJI
But Japan, the bloc’s only Asian member, is also expected to address the rapidly changing geopolitical situation in the Asia-Pacific region.
Amid the topics likely to be discussed will be China’s growing military might, its assertiveness in territorial disputes and what G7 nations view as Beijing’s ongoing use of coercive economic measures, such as its reaction to Japan’s release of treated water from the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
This comes as G7 member states such as France, Germany and Italy seek closer security ties with the strategically important region, while Japan expands its network of security partners to promote a “free and open Indo-Pacific” and the United States looks to groupings such as AUKUS and “the Quad” to tackle shared security concerns there.
Building on the commitments made at the May G7 leaders’ summit in Hiroshima, the top diplomats are also expected to continue to offer Asia-Pacific countries economic and development alternatives to China.
This will reportedly also extend to Central Asian nations, with media reports saying that Japan plans to invite the foreign ministers of five of these countries to an online session during the summit.
The G7’s growing focus on Central Asia is believed to signal the bloc’s position on strengthening ties with the energy-rich region while undermining its traditionally close ties with Russia and the role it plays in China’s Belt and Road initiative.
Source : TheJapanTimes