Japan and China held security talks yesterday after a four-year hiatus because of simmering territorial tensions, in a meeting expected to touch on the flashpoint issue of maritime crisis management, officials and reports said.
The first such dialogue between the two Asian rivals since January 2011 was held at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo, a government official said, in the latest sign of a hastening thaw in once-frozen relations.
The talks involved top officials from each nation’s foreign and defense ministries, including Japanese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Shinsuke Sugiyama and Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Liu Jianchao (劉建超).
Photo: AFP
Tokyo and Beijing are at loggerheads over the sovereignty of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, which Japan administers as the Senkakus, but which Taiwan and China claim as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台).
Relations soured in 2012 when the Japanese government angered China by nationalizing three of the five islands and Beijing had since refused most high-level talks with Tokyo, as ships and planes from both sides regularly sparred in the East China Sea.
Some observers had warned that the regular presence of military or paramilitary vessels from two of the region’s biggest powers risked sliding into conflict through error or a wayward local commander, but the two sides broke the ice in November last year when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) exchanged a frosty handshake on the sidelines of an APEC forum.
“Our country sees [the dialogue] as important as it is expected to improve mutual trust between Japan and China in the field of security,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters. “Through this dialogue, we want to foster a sense of trust between the two countries by exchanging views frankly and honestly on security policies, defense policies and the regional situation.”
Liu told the meeting that Beijing hoped to develop ties with Tokyo in the spirit of “taking history as a mirror and looking forward to the future,” Xinhua news agency said.
The comment reflects Beijing’s persistent theme of Japan’s need to face up to its actions in World War II.
Japan was expected to ask China to go ahead with stalled plans to launch a maritime crisis-management mechanism as soon as possible, Jiji Press said.
Tokyo is also expected to ask Beijing to make its growing defense spending more transparent and explain the reasons behind its military expansion, it said.
Beijing was likely to want to talk about moves by Abe to relax restrictions on the Japanese military to allow it to come to the aid of allies under attack, it added.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
COVETED PRIZE: The US president would be a peace prize laureate should he persuade Xi Jinping to abandon military aggression against Taiwan, William Lai said US President Donald Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize should he be able to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to abandon the use of force against Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) told a conservative US radio show and podcast in an interview. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer, despite the absence of formal ties, but since Trump took office earlier this year he has not announced any new arms sales to the nation. Trump could meet Xi at the APEC summit in South Korea on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Lai, speaking on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
RSS