Key facts
- G7 foreign ministers said China's activity east of Taiwan threatens regional stability, freedom of navigation and shipping safety.
- The declaration was published after a meeting in Paris, the report said.
- China has stepped up coast guard patrols off Taiwan's east coast since June 2026, according to the report.
- Taiwan says China is practising for a potential maritime blockade and harassing shipping, the report said.
- Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said China is carrying out area denial drills involving an aircraft carrier.
G7 foreign ministers meeting in Paris published a joint declaration late on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, saying that China's increasingly assertive activities in the waters east of Taiwan threaten regional stability and freedom of navigation.
The statement said the ministers stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. It also said: "We reaffirmed our opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo, particularly by force or coercion, or the threat thereof."
China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, has stepped up activity off the island's east coast since June 2026 with regular coast guard patrols. Taiwan, which rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, says it believes China is practising for a potential maritime blockade using overlapping military, paramilitary and civilian assets.
Following the Chinese Coast Guard's latest patrol off the east coast in October 2026, Taiwan said China was harassing shipping and trying to exert a fictional jurisdiction. Taipei regards the area off its east coast as critical to wartime supply routes from allies in the event of a blockade or conflict.
China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The United States, Britain, France and Germany have all previously expressed concern about China's actions off Taiwan's east coast, and China's military also operates around Taiwan on a daily basis.
Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, that China is carrying out "area denial" drills in the Western Pacific involving one of its aircraft carriers and other naval formations. China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, though it says it would prefer "peaceful reunification".