China and Japan on Friday set up a military hotline to strengthen the ability to manage and control maritime and air incidents arising from aggressive patrolling in disputed waters in the East China Sea. The hotline system has been announced at a time when Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi will visit Beijing this weekend. He will meet his Chinese counterpart Qing Gang to hold talks on improving relations between the two countries.
This will be the first visit to China by a Japanese foreign minister since 2019. The last visit was Hayashi’s predecessor Toshimitsu Motegi. After this, due to Kovid-19, China had closed its borders. China reopened the country to international travelers earlier this year.
Announcing the hotline, China’s Defense Ministry said, in accordance with the agreement between the defense departments of Beijing and Tokyo, the two sides recently completed the construction of a hotline (direct telephone line) for sea and air communication systems Is. The ministry said that the establishment of this hotline will effectively strengthen communication channels between the defense departments of China and Japan, strengthen the capabilities of both sides to manage and control maritime and air crises, and maintain regional peace and stability. Will help.
There has been a long-standing dispute between China and Japan over Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea. China claims these islands as its own.
These islands are known by Japan as the Senkakus, while China names them the Diaoyu. Taiwan also claims these islands. However, it has made an agreement with Japan to avoid any conflict, as Japan maintains close defense ties with Taipei. The hotline announced by the Chinese Defense Ministry assumes significance as the navies and air forces of both countries aggressively patrolled the islands to assert their claims.
