G7 endorses PM’s stance on ransoms

in Ise-Shima, Japan endangers the lives of our citizens as they travel, work and live around the world, but it also a significant source of funding for terrorist organizations ... people are understanding that our responsibilities as leaders to keep our citizens safe means being resolute.”

Canada refused to ransom John Ridsdel, the Calgary man beheaded by terrorist group Aby Sayyaf in the Philippines last month. Another Canadian, Robert Hall, is still held by the group.

“Blunt conversations” had led to “unity” on ransoms, Trudeau said. “People are very respectful of the fact that Canada speaks from a position of experience and tragic loss ... It is not an easy decision to make, but it is the right decision.”

It remains to be seen whether countries such as Japan, France, Italy and Germany — who are widely suspected of paying to free their citizens — will abide by the agreement.

Trudeau had less success getting the leaders to commit to fiscal stimulus through massive government spending on infrastructure.

Although five pages of the G7’s closing statement were devoted to economic issues, the only reference to fiscal stimulus — promoted by Trudeau and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — was that tax policy and public spending should be “as growth-friendly as possible” and G7 governments should consider “budget expenditures and revenues to support productivity, employment, inclusiveness and growth.”

That the G7 had not backed Abe more strongly on public spending to confront global economic stagnation, had been a huge disappointment to the Japanese leader, according to Japanese political journalists.

Although the global economy was one of the summit’s main talking points, security issues — from Venezuela to eastern Europe, the Middle East, South Asia and the western Pacific — dominated.

Japan, the U.S. and, to a lesser extent, Britain, wanted a strong consensus on how to deal with China’s island and airport building scheme in the South China Sea, in the face of lukewarm interest from Germany, France, Italy and Canada.

Abe got strong support on China’s far-ranging territorial claims in the South and East China seas, the issue that dominates most political discussions in Asia today.

“It remains to be seen how these issues will play out,” said David Welch of the Centre for International Governance at Waterloo University’s Balsillie School of International Affairs.

“But one thing is now clear: the debate has now shifted decisively from who owns what where to who does and does not respect international law.”

“China is certain to react badly (to the G7 communiqué), but if it is looking for silver linings, it will find two," he added.

One is that, unlike last year’s communiqué, there is no explicit reference to land reclamation activities, merely “unilateral actions (that) could increase tensions."

“The volume on the issue has clearly been turned down" he added. "The leaders opted for the moment to refer generically to settling disputes ‘through judicial procedures including arbitration,’ rather than, as had been speculated, prospectively endorsing the looming decision” by the International Court of Arbritration of a Philippines suit against China over part of its claim in the South China Sea.

Welch described Canada’s position on the matter as “evolving. The prime minister is trying to play ball” when the U.S. and Japan were “drifting towards a hard line.”

The trick is to do this without provoking China, which is hyper-sensitive on this issue, to doing something rash.

Trudeau strongly denied that by signing on to the G7 declaration on the rule of law as it pertains to maritime issues Canada was choosing Japan over China.

Noting his father’s record in greatly improving Canada’s relations with China, said the two countries had enjoyed “an extraordinarily strong relationship … that extends back 45 years.”

Nevertheless, he vowed Canada “would speak frankly with China about human rights, consular cases or security issues.”

On women’s empowerment and gender equality, a signature issue for the Trudeau government, the G7 agreed that “women and girls” were indispensable to western economies but still “face(d) barriers and discrimination that prevented them from realizing their full potential.”

The leaders were “appalled by the increase in gender-based violence in all its forms, including sexual violence” in war zones and called on all states to meet the UN’s stated “zero tolerance” policy against the sexual exploitation of women and girls.