Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed “serious concerns” on the situation in the South China Sea to Chinese President Xi Jinping in their first face-to-face talks, though the two sides agreed to continue co-operation on many issues including the economy and cultural exchanges.
The countries agreed to work on expanding cultural exchanges and continue high-level dialogue on economic issues, according to a joint statement after talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru.
Ishiba “conveyed serious concerns over the Chinese military’s growing activity” and said that “the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait is extremely important to Japan and the international community, while also expressing serious concerns over the situation surrounding the South China Sea, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.”
Tokyo said they agreed to “work towards realising mutual visits by respective foreign ministers, as well as the high-level dialogue on cultural exchange and economy.”
The chain of uninhabited islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, have long been a point of tension between the neighbours. Beijing claims the islands, but which are under Tokyo’s administration. Another strain on bilateral relations was the fatal stabbing of a 10-year-old Japanese schoolboy in Shenzhen in September. Ishiba urged Xi to “strengthen measures to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens” living in China, while Xi promised that the “safety of foreign nationals including Japanese people will be secured.”
Xi hoped that Japan would work with China to “properly handle major issues of principle such as history and Taiwan” and “manage differences constructively.” The sides, “whose economic interests and industrial and supply chains are deeply intertwined,” need to “pursue win-win cooperation and maintain the global free trade system as well as stable and unimpeded production and supply chains,” Xi said.
