Japan-China Maritime Mechanism to Specify No Geographic Range

May 8, 2018

Beijing- A planned maritime and aerial communication mechanism between Japan and China will specify no geographic range, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a press conference Monday.

The two countries are expected to reach an agreement on commencing the operations of the mechanism aimed at preventing unintended clashes in the East China Sea, during a meeting on Wednesday between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

The mechanism will allow the two sides to communicate directly to avoid collisions when Japanese and Chinese ships and airplanes approach one another.

Tokyo asked for excluding areas around the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, claimed by China, but China rejected this.

Since bilateral talks in December last year, however, the two sides have discussed the option of not defining the area covered by the mechanism in order to reach an agreement. Jiji Press