China and Japan have begun their first formal security talks in four years, with Chinese officials expressing concern over Tokyo’s military buildup and Japanese diplomats criticizing Beijing’s close ties to Russia and its alleged use of surveillance balloons.
The talks, intended to lower tensions, got under way on Wednesday in Japan’s capital.
They come amid Japan’s worries that China may resort to force to take control of Taiwan in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine a move that could spark a larger conflict that would involve Tokyo and the United States and disrupt global trade.
Japan announced in December that it would increase its defense spending over the next five years to 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) – a total of $320bn – to deter China from resorting to military action.
Along with the substantial US force that Japan hosts, Tokyo also has plans to acquire longer-range missiles that could reach China’s mainland and stockpile additional munitions necessary to sustain a conflict.
Beijing, which increased defence spending by 7.1 percent last year, spends more than four times as much as Japan on its armed forces.
Sun Weidong, China’s vice-foreign minister, voiced concern over Japan’s shifting security posture at the outset of the talks on Wednesday.
“The international security situation has undergone vast changes and we are seeing the return of unilateralism, protectionism, and a Cold War mentality,” the vice minister said at the start of the meeting.
He also warned against Japan’s “negative moves” with regard to Taiwan, “in collusion with powers outside the region”.
Shigeo Yamada, the deputy foreign minister for Japan, expressed concerns about the territorial dispute between the two neighbors over the uninhabited islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China in the East China Sea.
He also brought up the recent joint military exercises between Beijing and Russia as well as the suspected Chinese surveillance balloons that have at least three times since 2019 been spotted flying over Japan.
“While relations between Japan and China have a lot of possibilities, we are also facing many issues and concerns,” Yamada told Sun Weidong.
The Japanese allegations regarding spy balloons have been refuted by China, which has called them “groundless.”.
The Japanese allegations follow similar claims by the US, which shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon last month.
Last week, Japan announced that it intended to clarify the terms of military engagement to allow its jet fighters could shoot down unmanned aircraft that violated its airspace.
The last security dialogue between China and Japan took place in Beijing in February 2019.
Author-Roberta Appiah
