Japan, China Agree to Put Maritime Mechanism into Action

May 10, 2018

Tokyo- Japan and China agreed on Wednesday to put into action an air and maritime communication mechanism, which is aimed at avoiding unintended clashes between Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the Chinese military in and above the East China Sea.

The agreement was reached at a meeting in Tokyo between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who is visiting Japan for the first time since taking office in 2013. Li is also the first Chinese premier to make a Japan visit since 2011.

Abe and Li also confirmed the significance of mutual visits by the two countries' leaders, and agreed to arrange Abe's visit to China by year-end.

During the talks, which lasted for some two hours, they also decided to set up a public-private forum to discuss cooperation between Japanese and Chinese companies for infrastructure development in third countries. The forum is expected to hold its first meeting during Abe's planned China visit.

"I hope to elevate Japan-China relations to a new phase," Abe said at the beginning of the meeting with Li, noting that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the conclusion of the two nations' peace and friendship treaty.

"I want to see mutual visits by high-level officials to continue steadily," Abe also said, expressing hopes for his visit to China by the end of this year and a Japan visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In response, Li, who is visiting Japan as an official guest, said that returning the bilateral relations to the right track will not only bring benefits to the two countries but also meet expectations from the international community, calling on Abe to pay an official visit to his country.

"I want to visit China at an appropriate time," Abe said at a joint press conference with Li, held after the meeting.

The air and maritime communication mechanism, set to be operated from June, will focus on establishing hotlines between Japanese and Chinese defense authorities and a system that allows direct communications between Japanese and Chinese vessels and aircraft if they come close to each other.

Japan and China, however, agreed to set no geographical range to be covered by the mechanism, reflecting bilateral tensions over the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The islands are claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu.

Abe and Li also exchanged views on Japan's cooperation for China's One Belt, One Road development initiative for countries along the old Silk Road routes.

They agreed to initiate talks by experts toward easing China's import restrictions on Japanese foods, introduced after the March 2011 triple-meltdown accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s <9501> tsunami-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan.

China will give Japan a pair of crested ibises as a symbol of the improvement in bilateral ties, Li told Abe.

On the sidelines of the Abe-Li meeting, the Japanese and Chinese governments signed a social security agreement for preventing double payments of pension premiums by Japanese and Chinese people working in each other's countries.

The two governments also concluded a deal to simplify procedures for the co-production of movies by the two countries. Jiji Press