China, Japan Set Up Military Hotline To Manage Disputes In East China Sea Islands

The announcement of hotline mechanism has come in the wake of Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi's scheduled visit to Beijing this weekend.

A satellite image of the Senkaku Islands located in the East of China. The area is controlled by Japan but currently disputed by China and Taiwan.

Source : Getty

A military hotline was set up between China and Japan on Friday to strengthen their capabilities of managing and controlling maritime and air incidents arising due to their aggressive patrolling of the disputed waters in the East China Sea, reported news agency PTI.

Announcing the hotline, the Chinese Defence Ministry said that both the countries have recently completed the construction of a direct telephone line for the sea and air liaison mechanism and will maintain communication on the arrangement for the launch.

The establishment of the direct telephone line will effectively enrich the communication channels between the defence departments of China and Japan, strengthen the capabilities of the two sides to manage and control maritime and air crises, and help further maintain regional peace and stability, the ministry said, as reported by PTI.

The announcement of hotline mechanism has come in the wake of Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi's scheduled visit to Beijing this weekend. During his visit Hayashi will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Qing Gang on improving the relations between the two countries.

After 2019, when China shut down its borders to combat COVID-19, this will be the first visit by the Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi to China, reported PTI. China reopened the country for international travel early this year

China and Japan are involved in a dispute over uninhabited East China Sea islands that is controlled by Japan. However, China claims its stake over the islands..

The islands is referred by Japan as Senkakus, while China, that also claims the islands has named them Diaoyu.

Taiwan, which is viewed as a breakaway province by China also claims the islands but has signed an agreement with Japan to avoid any conflict as it maintains close defence ties with Tokyo.