China and Japan eye early launch of East China Sea crisis management mechanism
China and Japan have agreed to the early launch of a maritime and air crisis management mechanism aimed at avoiding unwanted clashes around the East China Sea islands, Japan’s Defence Minister Gen Nakatani said today.
“We have agreed to work toward making the mechanism operational at an early date based on our talks [held on Monday],” Nakatani told press conference.
“At a time when we see an increased risk of unforeseen events in waters and airspace, including in the East China Sea, I’d like to welcome it as a major step,” he said.
Xinhua said both sides had agreed to launch the maritime crisis management mechanism “as soon as possible once a broad agreement is reached”.
Chinese and Japanese defence authorities discussed technical matters and other issues over the launch of the crisis management mechanism, and shared a common view “to a certain extent”, Japan’s Defence Ministry said.
Meeting for the first time since 2012, officials from the ministry, Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force and China’s Defence Ministry clarified that the mechanism was designed to avoid clashes at sea and in the sky.
Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, also hailed the outcome of the talks, saying Japan hoped to “build relations of trust and promote mutual understanding” through dialogue at various levels.
The working-level talks came after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Xi Jinping agreed in November to ease tensions over the sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands – uninhabited islets controlled by Japan, which it calls the Senkakus – but also claimed by China.
The two countries had agreed to set up a hot line, use a common radio frequency for their ships and planes around the islets, and hold annual meetings.
Talks had been stalled since the Japanese government purchased some of the islets from a Japanese private owner in 2012.
Chinese patrol ships have repeatedly been spotted around the islands since then, and fighters jets from both countries have flown unusually close in the East China Sea, raising fears of an accident.
In 2013, Beijing declared a new air defence identification zone in the East China Sea that overlaps Japan’s.
