Tokyo Urges Beijing to Stop Intrusions into Japanese Waters
12:42 JST, April 11, 2023
Tokyo, April 10 (Jiji Press)—Japan urged China on Monday to stop immediately intrusions by its coast guard ships into Japanese waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
In a high-level dialogue on maritime issues, Japan also expressed concerns over China’s maritime expansion in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.
Chinese coast guard ships are frequently spotted in waters around the islands, claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu.
The meeting was attended by foreign, defense and coast guard officials from the two countries, their first face-to-face gathering since May 2019.
At the beginning of the meeting, Takehiro Funakoshi, director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, said that Tokyo wanted to discuss maritime issues frankly and seriously.
Hong Liang, director-general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs, said that through the dialogue China aims to manage properly differences in the maritime field and seek areas where the two countries can cooperate.
Japan also criticized China for continuing to send out information lacking a scientific basis about the planned release into the sea of treated water from the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Tokyo also conveyed concerns over China’s continued gas field development activities on the Chinese side of the median line between the two countries in the East China Sea.
China for its part demanded that Japan stop violating China’s sovereignty and harming its maritime interests in the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, according to China’s Foreign Ministry.
Beijing also warned Tokyo against interfering with Taiwan issues. Expressing concern about the water release from the Fukushima nuclear plant, it said the matter should be handled in a scientific and safe way.
Japan and China affirmed a plan to set up a hotline between their defense authorities at an early date.
"Politics" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Promotes Revised NISA Investment Program to Young People; Kishida Focusing on Moving Money From Savings to Investment in a Safe Environment
-
Chinese Ships Stay in Japanese Waters near Senkaku Islands for 2 Days
-
Japan, U.S. to Join Forces on AI, Semiconductors; Seek to Counter China’s ‘Military-Civil Fusion’
-
Japan, U.S. to Work Together for Expanding Marine Product Supply Chains; Countering China’s Economic Coercion
-
84% of People Nationwide Say They Feel Japan’s National Security Is Under Threat
JN ACCESS RANKING
- M6.0 Earthquake Hits Japan’s Tohoku Region; Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi Prefectures Observe 4 on Japanese Scale With No Risk of Tsunami
- Cherry Blossoms Draw Crowd to Tokyo’s Ueno Park; Viewing Season Kicks Off to Slow Start
- China Mutes Memorialization of Reformer Hu Yaobang; Memories Could Spark Critique of Xi Administration
- Shinkansen Services Suspended After Man ‘Searches for Phone’ on Tracks; Disruption Affects About 14,000 Passengers
- Whaling Mother Ship Built in Japan for 1st Time in 73 Years