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China, Japan Hold First Security Talks in 4 Years


Wed 22 Feb 2023 | 09:04 AM
Amir Hagag

China expressed deep alarm over Japan's increase in defense spending and military capabilities, while Tokyo criticized military relations between Beijing and Russia and its suspected use of spy balloons, during their first formal security talks in four years.

The talks, aimed at easing tensions between the world's second- and third-largest economies, come as Tokyo fears Beijing could resort to force to seize Taiwan in the wake of Russia's attack on Ukraine.

The international security situation has witnessed extensive changes, and we are witnessing the return of unilateralism, protectionism and the Cold War mentality," said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong at the beginning of the meeting in Tokyo with Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Shigeo Yamada.

China is Japan's largest trading partner, accounting for about a fifth of its exports and almost a quarter of its imports. It is also a major manufacturing base for Japanese companies.

While Japan-China relations hold many opportunities, we also face many problems and concerns," Yamada said.

He pointed to their territorial dispute over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, recent joint military exercises that Beijing conducted with Moscow and suspected Chinese surveillance balloons that have been spotted over Japan at least three times since 2019.

After the United States shot down a suspected Chinese spying balloon, Japan said last week that it plans to clarify military rules of engagement to allow its fighter jets to shoot down drones that violate its airspace.