Japan, China officials to hold informal talks on preventing conflict

Defence officials are meeting a Japanese delegation in Beijing this week for informal talks on preventing simmering territorial disputes from erupting into armed conflict, the talks' host said yesterday.

The former members of Japan's air and marine self-defence forces will meet the defence officials tomorrow, as Tokyo calls for a first official meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Xi Jinping .

Japan's Sasakawa Peace Foundation, which has been involved in such talks in previous years, is hosting the forum.

There would be two days of talks in Beijing followed by two more meetings to be held in Japan or China in the coming months, with a report expected early next year, the foundation said.

"We're hosting the meeting ahead of a resumption of official talks between defence authorities, and hope to help deepen communication between the two sides and create a positive atmosphere for bilateral relations," foundation official Yu Zhan said.

While there are signs of a thawing in relations between Tokyo and Beijing, disputes over the contested Diaoyu Islands and Chinese anger over Japan's aggression in the first half of the 20th century have weighed on ties.

In November, Beijing unilaterally declared an air defence identification zone covering the East China Sea, which overlapped a similar Japanese zone and covered the islands, which Japan controls and calls the Senkakus.