Japan national security chief criticizes China’s military exercises

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:19 JST, August 18, 2022

Takeo Akiba, secretary general of the National Security Secretariat, criticized Beijing’s extensive military exercises around Taiwan earlier this month in a recent meeting with Yang Jiechi, one of China’s top diplomats, the Japanese government said Thursday.

During the Wednesday meeting with Yang, who is a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo, Akiba stressed the importance of peace and stability in the region. They agreed to continue the dialogue between Tokyo and Beijing.

The Chinese side invited Akiba to Tianjin, China, for the talks, which lasted about seven hours total, including dinner. It was Akiba’s first meeting with Yang in person since assuming his current post.

According to government sources, Akiba referred to the escalation of tensions in connection with a visit by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan and strongly protested China’s firing of ballistic missiles that fell within Japan’s exclusive economic zone during its military exercises.

Akiba also lodged a protest over China’s repeated intrusions into Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture.

Akiba and Yang affirmed the need for both sides to strive to build a constructive, stable relationship and confirmed that the two countries would continue their dialogue. Japan and China will mark the 50th anniversary of the normalization of their diplomatic relations on Sept. 29, and they are expected to move toward rebuilding their bilateral relationship.

During the talks on Wednesday, Akiba and Yang also discussed the situation in Ukraine, where Russia’s aggression has continued, as well as North Korea, which is continuing with its nuclear and missile development.