China, Japan to kickstart air, maritime contact mechanism soon

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China and Japan have agreed to kickstart an air and maritime contact mechanism as soon as possible. The two nations reached the agreement at their seventh round of high-level consultations on maritime affairs, held in the Japanese city of Fukuoka from Thursday to Friday.

Officials from the two countries' ministries on foreign affairs, defense, security, transportation, agriculture, environment, energy and aquatic products attended the talks.

A plenary meeting and separate meetings of four working teams on politics and laws, maritime defense, maritime law enforcement and security, as well as maritime economy were held, with attendees exchanging views on issues related to the East China Sea and discussing concrete ways of conducting maritime cooperation.

Sunset over the East China Sea. /VCG Photo

The two sides agreed to launch a maritime and aerial communication mechanism between their defense departments as soon as possible and to further enhance communications in the defense area.

The Border Control Bureau of China's Ministry of Public Security and the Japan Coast Guard, further exchanged views on enhancing information exchange and law enforcement cooperation in cracking down on transnational crimes including smuggling, human smuggling and drug trafficking.

China's Coast Guard and Japan's Coast Guard, while recognizing the role played by the current contact mechanism, agreed to strengthen their communication through information and people-to-people exchanges so as to further enhance mutual trust. They also exchanged views on cooperation between the maritime law enforcement institutions of both countries.

File photo: the first China-Japan Experts Dialogue Platform Meeting on Marine Debris Cooperation in Dalian, China on March 5, 2017. /SOA Photo

The two sides also spoke highly of the first China-Japan Experts Dialogue Platform Meeting on Marine Debris Cooperation held in Dalian, China in March 2017, and agreed to have the second meeting in Japan in 2018. They also agreed to hold a maritime debris seminar in Shanghai in November, and to conduct a joint investigation on marine debris within the year.

The two sides reaffirmed the importance of signing a bilateral maritime search and rescue agreement and agreed to continue cooperation in this regard under bilateral and multilateral frameworks.

Polluted ocean water. /VCG Photo

They agreed to have relevant departments of both countries' cooperation on ship safety and pollution prevention at sea. They also confirmed the importance of enhancing fishery resource protection and management, and agreed to improve fishery cooperation.

They also exchanged views on the principled consensus on the East China Sea and agreed to continue discussions on the matter.

Floating houses along the East China Sea coast in Xiapu county, Fujian Province, China. /VCG Photo

They agreed in principle to hold the eighth round of high level consultations on maritime affairs in China later this year.

(Source: Xinhua)

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