歐盟尋求在亞洲“緊張局面”中發揮更大作用 - 警告中國

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

EU seeks bigger role in Asia's 'theatre of tensions', warns on China

Wed, May 11, 2022, 8:12 PM

By Elaine Lies

TOKYO (Reuters) -European Union leaders said on Thursday that the EU wants to become a bigger actor in Asia, which they termed a "theatre of tensions", warning of an increasingly assertive China even as they called on Beijing to defend the multilateral global order.

The call came in a joint news conference in Tokyo after an EU-Japan summit featuring European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. It also came a day after Beijing warned the summit not to "speak ill" of China.

The trio said they would keep up talks on ways to maximize their partnership to tackle Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, in areas such as energy as well as aid, joining in a statement to call for the immediate cessation of hostilities.

But Michel and von der Leyen, in Japan for the latest in a series of annual talks, also said they were aware that regional tensions existed in Asia as well, and that the EU wanted - and needed - to take on a bigger role.

"The Indo-Pacific is a thriving region. It is also a theatre of tensions," von der Leyen said. "Take the situation in the East and South China Sea and the constant threat of the DPRK (North Korea)."

"The European Union wants to take a more active role in the Indo-Pacific. We want to take more responsibility in a region that is so vital to our prosperity."

Both warned of China's close relationship with Russia, which calls its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation", and condemned unilateral moves to change the status quo in any region of the world.

"Our cooperation in Ukraine is critical but it is also important in the Indo-Pacific, and we also want to deepen our consultation on a more assertive China," Michel said. "We believe that China must stand up to defend the multilateral system that it has benefited from."

The meeting came a day after China said that while a strong EU-Japan relationship was beneficial, it shouldn't go too far.

"I also need to emphasize that the EU-Japan summit is a matter between themselves but they should not speak ill of China, let alone interfere in China's internal affairs," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday.

Both Michel and von der Leyen welcomed Japan's participation in measures against Russia, including sanctions.

"We welcome the increasingly strong stance Japan is taking against Russia," von der Leyen said at the start of their talks.

Tokyo has joined the European Union and Group of Seven nations in imposing trade sanctions on Russia, that have cramped Moscow's ability to export its oil and gas.

But Japan is heavily reliant on energy imports, including purchases from Russia. Last week Kishida said Japan would "in principle" ban Russian oil but it has been more reluctant to disengage from some projects.

The three officials were meeting in the Japanese capital for an annual conference that was held online last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, a day after Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin met with Kishida and just hours before Finland said it would apply to join NATO.

Von der Leyen will leave Japan on Thursday afternoon, while Michel will travel to the nuclear memorial city of Hiroshima, where he will offer flowers, and leave at the weekend.

"In light of the war in Ukraine, this will be an opportune time to send a powerful message of peace and of hope," he said.

Translation

東京（路透社） - 歐盟領導人周四表示，歐盟希望在亞洲成為一個更大的參與者，他們稱亞洲為“緊張局勢的場所”，儘管他們呼籲北京捍衛多邊全球組織，但警告中國會變得越來越咄咄迫人。

歐盟委員會主席馮德萊恩、歐洲理事會主席米歇爾和日本首相岸田文雄出席歐盟-日本峰會後，在東京舉行的聯合新聞發布會上發出了這一呼籲。這也是在北京警告峰會不要“說中國壞話”的第二天。

三人表示，他們將繼續討論如何最大限度地擴大合作夥伴關係，以應對俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭的問題，包括能源和援助等領域，並發表聲明，呼籲立即停止敵對行動。

但米歇爾和馮德萊恩, 在日本參加了最新的一系列年度會談，亦表示他們意識到亞洲也存在地區緊張局勢，歐盟希望 - 也需要 - 發揮更大的作用。

馮德萊恩說: “印太地區是一個繁榮的地區。它也是一個緊張的舞台”;  “以東海和南海局勢以及朝鮮（北韓）的不斷脅迫為例。”

“歐盟希望在印太地區發揮更積極的作用。我們希望在這個對我們的繁榮至關重要的地區承擔更多責任。”

兩人都警告中國與俄羅斯關係密切，俄羅斯聲稱其在烏克蘭的行動是“特殊軍事行動”; 兩人並譴責單方面改變世界任何地區現狀的行動。

Michel說: “我們在烏克蘭的合作至關重要，但在印太地區也很重要，我們還希望與更加自信的中國深化磋商”; “我們認為，中國必須站出來捍衛它從中受益的多邊體系。”

會議召開前一天，中國表示，雖然堅實的歐日關係是有益的，但不應走得太遠。

中國外交部發言人趙立堅週三表示: “我還需要強調，歐日峰會是雙方之間的事情，他們不應該說中國的壞話，更不能干涉中國內政。”

米歇爾和馮德萊恩都對日本參與針對俄羅斯的措施表示歡迎, 包括制裁在內。

馮德萊恩在會談開始時表示: “我們歡迎日本對俄羅斯採取越來越強硬的立場” 。

東京已加入歐盟和七國集團對俄羅斯實施貿易制裁，這限制了莫斯科出口其石油和天然氣的能力。

但日本嚴重依賴能源進口，包括從俄羅斯購買。上週岸田表示，日本將“原則上”禁止俄羅斯石油，但它較不願意退出一些項目。

這三位官員在日本首都了一次年度會議，由于冠狀病毒大流行會議去年是在線舉行。 年度會議是在芬蘭總理 Sanna Marin 與岸田會面的第二天，及芬蘭表示將申請加入北約前的幾個小時。

馮德萊恩將於週四下午離開日本，而米歇爾將前往核紀念城市廣島獻花，並於週末離開。

他說: “鑑於烏克蘭的戰爭，這將是傳遞有力的和平與希望信息的好時機。”

So, the EU wants to become a bigger actor in Asia, which they term a "theatre of tensions", judging from the situation in the East and South China Sea and the constant threat of the North Korea. I consider this is a change in foreign policy of the EU. The Russian-Ukraine conflict has changed the perception and world view of many countries.