Japan, China ministers maintain 20-minute name on new army hotline | World News

Japan and China used a brand new army hotline for the primary time on Tuesday, their defence ministries mentioned, following years of negotiations to arrange the communication channel.

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Japanese Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada held a 20-minute name together with his Chinese language counterpart Li Shangfu, Tokyo's ministry mentioned in an announcement.

"Hamada talked about the existence of safety considerations between Japan and China, such because the state of affairs within the East China Sea," it mentioned.

He "acknowledged that it's essential to have candid communication particularly when there are considerations about Japan-China relations".

Beijing confirmed the decision, saying the air and maritime hotline would "contribute to additional sustaining regional peace and stability".

The hotline, launched on March 31, had been mooted by either side for over a decade as a solution to avert sudden clashes within the East China Sea.

A territorial dispute over islets within the space often called the Senkaku by Tokyo and the Diaoyu by Beijing has lengthy fuelled tensions between the nations.

Japan, cautious of its neighbour's rising army energy, has publicly protested the presence of Chinese language vessels across the disputed islets, and in different areas together with close to Okinawa.

Because the world's second- and third-largest economies, China and Japan are key buying and selling companions, and final yr marked 50 years of diplomatic relations.

However ties between them are sometimes fraught, and soured in December when Japan introduced a safety overhaul together with extra defence spending, calling China its "biggest strategic problem ever".

Nonetheless, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida lately mentioned he desires "constructive and steady" ties with China.

Kishida met President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a summit final yr, and Japan's overseas minister visited Beijing final month -- the primary such journey since December 2019.

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This week, Kishida is internet hosting G7 leaders in Hiroshima, the place the bloc's relationship with China can be excessive on the agenda.

At a G7 overseas ministers' assembly in April, seen as setting the stage for the summit, the group warned Beijing over "militarisation actions" within the South China Sea.