15:56 JST, May 24, 2024
The Japanese government is making arrangements to hold bilateral talks between Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang next week on the sidelines of a trilateral summit between the leaders of Japan, South Korea and China in Seoul.
If the talks take place, Kishida and Li will meet bilaterally for the first time since they spoke without sitting down at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in September last year.
At a press conference on Thursday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said: “Both sides will make efforts to build the relationship between Japan and China in a constructive and stable manner.”
During the planned meeting, Kishida and Li are likely to discuss issues such as China’s ban on the import of Japanese marine products following the release of treated water into the sea by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.’s No. 1 nuclear power plant. . Kishida is also expected to express concerns about Chinese military exercises near Taiwan.4
Japan-US-ROK holds joint exercise
The Japan Coast Guard announced Thursday that Japan, the United States and South Korea will hold their first joint maritime exercise on June 6 off the coast of Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture.
As China makes aggressive maritime advances in the East and South China seas and other locations, the joint exercise aims to strengthen cooperation between the three countries to ensure maritime security.
The exercise is expected to involve large patrol ships from the coast guards of the three countries, such as the American USCGC Waesche. During the exercise, the coast guards will jointly conduct search and rescue activities and transmit information in the scenario where ships have collided and a fire has broken out.
The US and South Korean patrol ships and the JCG’s Wakasa ship will enter Maizuru Port before and after the exercise to strengthen unity through mutual visits and other exchanges among crew members.
