TOKYO (AP) – Japan and China’s defense ministers on Tuesday sought to build trust and improve communication as Japan and other neighbors fear Beijing’s increasingly aggressive military activities opened a hotline.
Japan’s Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada and China’s Defense Minister Li Sang Fu met for about 20 minutes over the hotline for the first time since the hotline was set up on March 31, the Japanese defense ministry said.
The two ministers welcomed the start of operation of the hotline and reiterated the importance of the “maritime and air communication mechanism” including the hotline in building trust between the two countries and avoiding unforeseen situations.
Tokyo and Beijing are embroiled in a dispute over small Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea known as Japan’s Senkaku Islands and China’s Diaoyu Islands. China regularly sends Coast Guard ships and planes into the waters and airspace around the islands to attack Japanese ships and force the Japanese military to deploy fighter jets.
The Chinese navy also regularly circles the Japanese coast, sometimes conducting joint military exercises with Russia, angering the Japanese government. Japan has become increasingly concerned about tensions over its sovereign Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory and threatens to annex it by force if necessary.
Citing the island issue and other disputes between Japan and China, Hamada said open communication between the two countries is necessary, especially when relations between the two countries are not so good.
Hamada and Lee also confirmed that the hotline was functioning properly and agreed to continue communication between their respective defense agencies.
The concept of the hotline was originally agreed in 2018 between then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Premier Li Keqiang to avoid accidental clashes between military personnel.
