Arya News - Relations between Tokyo and Beijing have deteriorated rapidly since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark in the Diet last November regarding a possible Taiwan contingency. Since then, even working-level exchanges between the two governments have remained difficult.
MANILA – Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Thursday he briefly spoke with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – related foreign ministers’ meetings in Manila.
According to Japan’s Foreign Ministry, it was Motegi and Wang’s first interaction since a telephone conversation in October.
Motegi and Wang met at the conference venue around noon on Wednesday and exchanged a few words regarding Japan-China relations.
A senior Foreign Ministry official said the brief conversation did not touch on China’s recent submarine-launched ballistic missile test into the Pacific Ocean or its live-fire exercises conducted within Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
Relations between Tokyo and Beijing have deteriorated rapidly since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark in the Diet last November regarding a possible Taiwan contingency. Since then, even working-level exchanges between the two governments have remained difficult.