China, Japan ‘to hold maritime defence talks on Monday'
Aim is to avert clashes off the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, Japanese defence sources say
China and Japan have agreed to hold a working-level meeting in Tokyo next Monday to launch a maritime crisis management mechanism sometime this year, Japanese defence sources said.
The two countries will resume talks to avert unwanted clashes around the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, islets controlled by Japan but claimed by China.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Xi Jinping agreed in talks last November to ease tensions over the sovereignty of the islands and establish the crisis management mechanism.
Patrol ships and aircraft from China have been repeatedly spotted around the islands, which Japan calls the Senkaku, keeping Japanese authorities on alert.
Officials from Japan’s Defence Ministry and Maritime Self-Defence Force, plus China’s Defence Ministry, will attend the meeting, the sources said.
Japanese and Chinese defence authorities reached a basic agreement in 2012 to set up a hotline and use a common radio frequency for their ships and planes around the Diaoyu Islands.