{"id":6973,"date":"2023-05-16T16:46:04","date_gmt":"2023-05-16T15:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=6973"},"modified":"2023-05-16T17:00:09","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T16:00:09","slug":"japanese-and-chinese-defense-ministers-set-up-hotline-to-avoid-conflict-and-build-trust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/diplomatic-world\/japanese-and-chinese-defense-ministers-set-up-hotline-to-avoid-conflict-and-build-trust\/2023\/05\/16\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan and China set up hotline to avoid conflict and mistrust"},"content":{"rendered":"

TOKYO<\/span> (AP)<\/span> –<\/span> Japan<\/span> and<\/span> China’s<\/span> defense<\/span> ministers<\/span> on<\/span> Tuesday<\/span> sought<\/span> to<\/span> build<\/span> trust<\/span> and<\/span> improve<\/span> communication<\/span> as<\/span> Japan<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> neighbors<\/span> fear<\/span> Beijing’s<\/span> increasingly<\/span> aggressive<\/span> military<\/span> activities <\/span>opened<\/span> a<\/span> hotline.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Japan’s<\/span> Defense<\/span> Minister<\/span> Yasukazu<\/span> Hamada<\/span> and<\/span> China’s<\/span> Defense<\/span> Minister<\/span> Li<\/span> Sang<\/span> Fu<\/span> met<\/span> for<\/span> about<\/span> 20<\/span> minutes<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> hotline<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> first<\/span> time<\/span> since<\/span> the<\/span> hotline<\/span> was<\/span> set<\/span> up<\/span> on<\/span> March<\/span> 31,<\/span> the<\/span> Japanese<\/span> defense<\/span> ministry<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> two<\/span> ministers<\/span> welcomed<\/span> the<\/span> start<\/span> of<\/span> operation<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> hotline<\/span> and<\/span> reiterated<\/span> the<\/span> importance<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> “maritime<\/span> and<\/span> air<\/span> communication<\/span> mechanism”<\/span> including<\/span> the<\/span> hotline<\/span> in<\/span> building<\/span> trust<\/span> between<\/span> the<\/span> two<\/span> countries<\/span> and<\/span> avoiding<\/span> unforeseen<\/span> situations.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Tokyo<\/span> and<\/span> Beijing<\/span> are<\/span> embroiled<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> dispute<\/span> over<\/span> small<\/span> Japanese-controlled<\/span> islands<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> East<\/span> China<\/span> Sea<\/span> known<\/span> as<\/span> Japan’s<\/span> Senkaku<\/span> Islands<\/span> and<\/span> China’s<\/span> Diaoyu<\/span> Islands.<\/span> China<\/span> regularly<\/span> sends<\/span> Coast<\/span> Guard<\/span> ships<\/span> and<\/span> planes<\/span> into<\/span> the<\/span> waters<\/span> and<\/span> airspace<\/span> around<\/span> the<\/span> islands<\/span> to<\/span> attack<\/span> Japanese<\/span> ships<\/span> and<\/span> force<\/span> the<\/span> Japanese<\/span> military<\/span> to<\/span> deploy<\/span> fighter<\/span> jets.<\/span>\u00a0
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> Chinese<\/span> navy<\/span> also<\/span> regularly<\/span> circles<\/span> the<\/span> Japanese<\/span> coast,<\/span> sometimes<\/span> conducting<\/span> joint<\/span> military<\/span> exercises<\/span> with<\/span> Russia,<\/span> angering<\/span> the<\/span> Japanese<\/span> government.<\/span> Japan<\/span> has<\/span> become<\/span> increasingly<\/span> concerned<\/span> about<\/span> tensions<\/span> over<\/span> its<\/span> sovereign<\/span> Taiwan,<\/span> which<\/span> it<\/span> claims<\/span> as<\/span> its<\/span> own<\/span> territory<\/span> and<\/span> threatens<\/span> to<\/span> annex<\/span> it<\/span> by<\/span> force<\/span> if<\/span> necessary.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Citing<\/span> the<\/span> island<\/span> issue<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> disputes<\/span> between<\/span> Japan<\/span> and<\/span> China,<\/span> Hamada<\/span> said<\/span> open<\/span> communication<\/span> between<\/span> the<\/span> two<\/span> countries<\/span> is<\/span> necessary,<\/span> especially<\/span> when<\/span> relations<\/span> between<\/span> the<\/span> two<\/span> countries<\/span> are<\/span> not<\/span> so<\/span> good.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Hamada<\/span> and<\/span> Lee<\/span> also<\/span> confirmed<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> hotline<\/span> was<\/span> functioning<\/span> properly<\/span> and<\/span> agreed<\/span> to<\/span> continue<\/span> communication<\/span> between<\/span> their<\/span> respective<\/span> defense<\/span> agencies.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> concept<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> hotline<\/span> was<\/span> originally<\/span> agreed<\/span> in<\/span> 2018<\/span> between<\/span> then-Prime<\/span> Minister<\/span> Shinzo<\/span> Abe<\/span> and<\/span> Premier<\/span> Li<\/span> Keqiang<\/span> to<\/span> avoid<\/span> accidental<\/span> clashes<\/span> between<\/span> military<\/span> personnel.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TOKYO (AP) – Japan and China’s defense ministers on Tuesday sought to build trust and improve communication as Japan and other neighbors fear Beijing’s increasingly aggressive military activities opened a hotline. Japan’s Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada and China’s Defense Minister Li Sang Fu met for about 20 minutes over the hotline for the first time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[2428,24,26,2425],"tags":[936,1458,2296,3937,3941,5001,5002,5003,5004],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CHINESEDF.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6973"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6973"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6977,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6973\/revisions\/6977"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}