China and Japan to agree on procedures for unexpected military encounters: source
Rules for communication will apply to encounters on high sea and international airspace, but China wants them extended to territorial waters, too, Japan's 'Mainichi' newspaper says
Japan and China will conclude an agreement in July to define procedures for communication between their naval vessels and military aircraft during unexpected encounters to reduce the risk of confrontation, a source has told Reuters.
The rules for communication would apply to encounters on the high sea and in international airspace, although China also wanted to extend the agreement to cover territorial waters, too, the Mainichi newspaper reported earlier.
“We reached agreement on some parts in Beijing on June 19, and believe it is necessary to implement this mechanism quickly, so we will continue talking,” Gen Nakatani, Japan’s Minister of Defence, said at a press briefing on Friday.
Japan considers much of the South China Sea to be international waters, but China claims much of the territory, where it is building a series of man-made islands.
A Japanese P3-C patrol plane flew over parts of the South China Sea that Beijing claims during a search-and-rescue exercise with the Philippine military on Wednesday.