Europe must defend global order: German foreign minister

Europe should not only defend its own peace but act with a broad worldview, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Monday after talks on China with G7 counterparts.

Her comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron provoked controversy after a recent trip to Beijing by saying that Europe should avoid "crises that aren't ours".

Europeans "must not withdraw into our shells. We must not limit ourselves to defending the European peace, because it is under attack," Baerbock told a press conference in Karuizawa, Japan, where the gathering of the top diplomats was taking place.

"We must act sovereignly and independently with a broad view of the world, especially when others suddenly act to our detriment or to the detriment of others," she added.

Baerbock also warned that China "wants to replace the existing, binding international rules with its own rules," listing examples of Beijing's aggressive behaviour in disputed waters, such as building artificial islands.

Such actions "endanger the international order in the Indo-Pacific. All this makes it clear why it is so important, especially in these times, for countries that believe in the international rules-based order to stand together".

On a visit to Beijing last week, Baerbock had warned of a "horror scenario" in the case of a "military escalation" in the Taiwan Strait.

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© Agence France-Presse

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