Special to WorldTribune.com

By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com

Tension between the Western Alliance on the one hand, and China and Russia on the other has been ratcheted up as the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries issued a joint statement on June 5 warning against growing instability in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

Without mentioning China by name, the statement said: “We oppose any unilateral attempt by any party to assert its territorial or maritime claims through the use of intimidation, coercion or force.” The G7 leaders also called upon claimants to the oil-rich seas to “follow international law” in resolving competing claims.

The statement was the result of lobbying by the United States and Japan to use the G7 Summit in Brussels to warn Beijing against escalating tension in areas containing vital sea lanes through which some one-third of international commerce passes through.

It was the first time in the history of G7 that the seven industrialized nations joined hands in an apparent effort to influence the outcome of territorial disputes in Asia. At the same time, the G7 leaders upbraided Russia for its annexation of Crimea.

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