Japanese National Security Secretariat Director-General Takeo Akiba had met China’s top diplomat for seven hours of talks that covered topics including Taiwan and Russia’s war in Ukraine, a Japanese government official said yesterday.
Accepting an invitation from China, Akiba traveled to Tianjin, southeast of Beijing, to meet Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi (楊潔篪) on Wednesday afternoon, the official said.
Xinhua news agency also reported that the two had met, weeks before the countries commemorated the 50th anniversary of their normalized ties on Sept. 29.
Photo: AFP
Relations between Asia’s two largest economies are not always friendly, and have long been beset by issues ranging from wartime history to territorial disputes.
Japan in the past few weeks has protested Chinese missiles that it said landed in its exclusive economic zone during military drills around Taiwan, while China called visits by Japanese ministers to a controversial war shrine a “serious provocation.”
However, during the meeting, which included dinner, the two senior officials took the opportunity to discuss an array of geopolitical issues.
Akiba “conveyed Japan’s position” on Taiwan to Yang, and stressed the importance of “peace and stability” in the Taiwan Strait, the official said.
Their meeting was held two weeks after a visit to Taiwan by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi sparked a furious reaction from the Chinese government, which launched its largest-ever military drills around Taiwan.
Akiba echoed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in “condemning and protesting” Beijing’s recent show of military might, the official said.
Xinhua reported that Yang told Akiba that “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the Taiwan question bears on the political foundation of China-Japan relations and the basic trust and good faith between the two countries.”
Yang also urged Tokyo to “shape up a right perception of China” and work with Beijing to “promote bilateral ties to be more mature, stable, healthy and stronger,” while striving to “eliminate internal and external interference.”
The unnamed Japanese official said the pair discussed North Korea and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Akia expressing “grave concerns” over Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear weapons development programs.
Xinhua said the pair “exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern,” but did not give details.
The official said Akiba and Yang also talked about a perennial controversy over disputed islets in the East China Sea called the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan and China, and the Senkaku Islands in Japan.
Japan last month lodged a protest with China over a Chinese naval vessel sailing near the islands.
Akiba reiterated Japan’s position on the islets and China’s growing maritime assertiveness, the official said.
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