Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Japan navy chief urges resumption of China port visits

Published 09/26/2016, 03:12 PM
Updated 09/26/2016, 03:20 PM
Japan navy chief urges resumption of China port visits

Japan navy chief urges resumption of China port visits

By David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of Japan's navy on Monday repeated criticisms of China's pursuit of territorial claims in Asia but called for a resumption of port and personnel visits suspended for several years amid rising tensions between the two Asian powers.

Admiral Tomohisa Takei said exchange visits by senior naval personnel and warships were effective in improving relationships between armed forces.

"They should be resumed as soon as possible," he told a Washington think tank. "Our door is open."While criticizing China's for its actions in the East China Sea, where Tokyo and Beijing have competing territorial claims, and in the South China Sea, where China has rival claims with other Asian countries, Takei sought to play down remarks by Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada last week on plans to step up cooperation with the U.S. Navy.

He said Inada's statement that Japan would step up engagement in the South China Sea with "joint training cruises" with the United States did not mean it intended to carry out patrols there, and that this had been misinterpreted.

"It means transit from one point to another; to use such occasions to conduct mutual or bilateral exercises, training with a foreign country," he said.

"That is the usual training and operation we have already conducted for several years."

Takei said Japan had no plans "at this time" to join the United States in freedom-of-navigation operations in the South China Sea, even though it was a vital waterway for the transit of 90 percent of Japan's crude oil and 80 percent of its natural gas.

"And we are not thinking of conducting operations only by ourselves," he added.

While urging greater engagement with China, Takei criticized Beijing for its "deliberate attempt to unilaterally change the status quo and undermine existing norms" by building artificial islands in the South China Sea and accused it of "invasion" of Japanese territorial waters in the East China Sea.

He said there had been no port visit by a Japanese ship to China since a destroyer docked in Quindao in 2011 and no personnel exchanges for six years.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.