Update | Biden wants Japan, China to have communication channel over air defence zone
US No 2 says Beijing and Tokyo need system to avoid an incident over East China Sea escalating
Watch: Biden says China, Japan must communicate to end dispute
US Vice-President Joe Biden repeated yesterday that he was "deeply concerned" by China's new air defence identification zone (ADIZ), and urged Beijing and Tokyo to set up a communication system to deal with any crisis.
After meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo, Biden said the new zone over the East China Sea had raised regional tensions and increased the risk of accidents and miscalculation.
"This underscores the need for crisis management mechanisms and effective channels of communication between China and Japan to reduce risk of escalation," he said.
This underscores the need for crisis management mechanisms and effective channels of communication between China and Japan to reduce risk of escalation
Tensions in the region are at their highest in years, with China and Japan squaring off over a chain of uninhabited islands in a feud that has some observers warning of the danger of an armed confrontation.