SCMP



 

• Top diplomat Wang Yi tells Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi that unilateralism and decoupling aren’t in the interests of any party
• The pair met in Munich on Saturday, after Japan last week said Chinese spy balloons may have entered its airspace in recent years

Beijing has urged Tokyo to “make independent choices” after Japan followed the US in expressing concern over suspected Chinese spy balloons entering its airspace.

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi also told Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi during talks in Munich on Saturday that unilateralism and decoupling were not in the interests of any party.

Wang said “the Japanese side should recognise the situation and make independent choices”, according to a readout from Beijing.

The meeting – held on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference – comes as the two nations have been at loggerheads over disputes in the East China Sea and Taiwan, and after Tokyo said Chinese spy balloons may have entered its airspace in recent years.

In a move to ease tensions, China and Japan have agreed to hold a security dialogue this week – the first since 2019. Sun Weidong, China’s foreign vice-minister, will travel to Japan on Tuesday for the talks and other regular diplomatic consultations, the ministry said on Monday.

In Munich, Wang, who heads the office of the Communist Party’s Central Foreign Affairs Commission, called on Japan to “eliminate internal and external interference” and to work with China to stabilise relations, according to the Chinese readout.

It was the first meeting between diplomats from the two countries since Japan last week said at least three unidentified flying objects that flew over its airspace from 2019 to 2021 were “strongly suspected” to have been Chinese unmanned spy balloons.

During the talks, Hayashi again conveyed Japan’s position on flying objects that had been detected in its territory in the past, according to a readout from the Japanese foreign ministry.

“I said that if a balloon enters our country’s airspace without permission, it would be considered an intrusion no matter which country it came from,” Hayashi told reporters after the meeting, according to Kyodo News.

China’s foreign ministry last week urged Tokyo to “stop following the US to engage in artificial speculation and make a fuss” over the balloon issue.
In the meeting, Hayashi also urged China to respond to the situation in Ukraine as “a responsible major power”.

Japan has imposed sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, along with other nations, and has previously called on China to take a responsible role in the situation. Beijing has been reluctant to condemn Moscow and was warned by the US not to provide military support to Russia.

Hayashi also raised concern over the long-standing territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which China calls the Diaoyus. Coastguards from the two countries last month traded warnings near the islands that are controlled by Tokyo but also claimed by Beijing.

In addition, Hayashi expressed concern over China’s military activities near Japan, including its cooperation with Russia, and underscored the importance of stability in the Taiwan Strait, according to Tokyo’s statement.

Liu Jiangyong, a Japan specialist at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said this week’s security talks were an opportunity for the two sides to state their concerns, but sticking points in relations would remain.

He noted that Japan described China as an “unprecedented strategic challenge” in its new national security policy last year and this – as well as Tokyo’s position on Taiwan – had a negative impact on bilateral ties.

“As a result, I don’t believe these issues can be resolved by one or two security dialogues and … there won’t be any great improvement in relations,” Liu said.

However, he said Japan was seeking a more “constructive and stable relationship” with China and the two sides could discuss setting up a maritime hotline to manage tensions over the Diaoyu Islands.