「法の支配」重要性で一致　茂木氏、東欧４カ国外相と会談

　茂木敏充外相は７日午前（日本時間同日午後）、訪問先のポーランドで、同国とスロバキア、チェコ、ハンガリーの東欧４カ国（Ｖ４）と外相会談を行った。茂木氏は東・南シナ海の一方的な現状変更の試みを続ける中国に深刻な懸念を表明。法の支配に基づく自由で開かれた国際秩序の維持、強化が重要との認識で一致した。
　欧州連合（ＥＵ）は９月に「インド太平洋戦略」を策定する。茂木氏はインド太平洋地域へのＥＵの関与に歓迎の意を示し、戦略策定に向けたＶ４各国の積極的な貢献に期待感を示した。各国外相は日本と連携して対応すると応じた。
　会談終了後、茂木氏はオンライン記者会見で「基本的価値を共有する国々の結束が極めて重要だ」と強調。東欧諸国へのインフラ投資を進めるなど影響力を強める中国をけん制した。（2021/05/07-23:53）

The foreign ministers of Japan and four East European countries have agreed on the importance of maintaining and strengthening the free and open international order based on the rule of law.
   They shared the recognition at a meeting held in Poland on Friday.
   At the meeting with his counterparts from the so-called Visegrad Four, or V4, nations--Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi expressed serious concerns over China's continued attempts to change the status quo unilaterally in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.
   With the European Union set to draw up an Indo-Pacific strategy in September, Motegi welcomed the EU's involvement in the region and expressed his hope that the V4 nations will make an active contribution to the formulation of the strategy.
   The V4 foreign ministers said they will play their roles while working with Japan.