Japanese Defense Minister "Concerned about China's Military Activities"... Chinese Defense "There Should Be No Mutual Threats"

Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara expressed concerns about the situation in the East and South China Seas, including the Senkaku Islands (called Diaoyutai by China), where China is strengthening its maritime presence, during talks with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun on the 1st, according to Yomiuri Shimbun.

Defense Minister Kihara held a bilateral meeting with Minister Dong for about 50 minutes in Singapore, where the 21st Asia Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue) was taking place. This was the first meeting between Kihara and Dong and the first Japan-China defense minister meeting in a year since June last year.

In his opening remarks at the meeting, Defense Minister Kihara said, "There are various security concerns between Japan and China, including the situation in the East China Sea around the Senkaku Islands and China's active military activities around Japan."

Defense Minister Kihara also emphasized the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

At the same time, Kihara expressed his intention to continue dialogue, stating that it is important to repeatedly hold discussions between the defense authorities of the two countries.

Minister Dong said, "Japan and China are neighbors who cannot move away from each other," and added, "The defense authorities of both sides are cooperative partners, and political consensus must be translated into concrete policies and actions to ensure that neither side poses a threat," showing willingness to maintain communication with Japan.

Earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, during a summit meeting with Chinese Premier Li Chang at the Korea-Japan-China summit held in Seoul on the 26th of last month, pointed out, "We are closely monitoring the military situation surrounding Taiwan," and stated, "Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are very important to the international community."

He also expressed serious concerns about China's military activities around Japan and demanded the immediate removal of buoys installed by China within Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around the Senkaku Islands.

In response, Premier Li said, "I hope that Japan will keep its promises well, appropriately handle issues such as history and Taiwan, and work together with China to build a constructive and stable Japan-China relationship that meets the demands of the new era."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.