Sharjah 24 – AFP: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Saturday he told Western powers that East Asia could be the next Ukraine, as he urged a united front on a rising China and bellicose North Korea.
Kicking off Japan's year as head of the Group of Seven, Kishida visited leaders of all members of the elite club except Germany, where he plans to go soon following a scheduling conflict.
Closing his trip in Washington, Kishida said he shared with G7 leaders his "strong sense of crisis regarding the security environment in East Asia."
"Ukraine may be the East Asia of tomorrow," Kishida told a news conference a day after meeting President Joe Biden, calling security concerns in the two regions "inseparable."
"The situation around Japan is becoming increasingly severe with attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force in the East China Sea and South China Sea and the activation of North Korea's nuclear and missile activities," he said.
Kishida was referring to China's growing assertiveness in surrounding waters where Beijing has a slew of island disputes including with Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam.
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