Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday he had expressed “serious concerns” over regional security issues to Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bangkok at the pair’s first in-person talks.
The two major economies are key trading partners, but relations have soured as Beijing bolsters its military, projects power regionally, and takes a harder line on territorial rivalries.
Kishida said he had “expressed serious concerns over the situation in the East China Sea, including the Senkaku Islands”, referring to Tokyo-controlled disputed islets that Beijing calls the Diaoyus.
He said he also raised concerns over “China’s military activities, including ballistic missile launches from China”.
In August, Chinese missiles fired during massive military drills around Taiwan are believed to have fallen within Japan’s exclusive economic zone.