Tokyo
\nChina and Japan have kicked off their first formal security talks in four years, with Chinese officials expressing concern over Tokyo\u2019s military buildup and Japanese diplomats taking aim at Beijing\u2019s close ties with Russia and its suspected use of surveillance balloons.
\nThe talks, aimed at easing tensions, began in the Japanese capital on Wednesday.
\nThey come amid Japan\u2019s worries that China may resort to force to take control of Taiwan in the wake of Russia\u2019s attack on Ukraine \u2013 a move that could lead to a wider conflict embroiling Tokyo and the United States, and disrupt global trade.
\nJapan in December said it would double defence spending over the next five years to 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) \u2013 a total of $320bn \u2013 to deter China from resorting to military action.
\nTokyo also plans to acquire longer-range missiles that could strike mainland China and stock up on other munitions necessary to sustain a conflict alongside the large force from the US that Japan hosts.
\nBeijing, which increased defence spending by 7.1 percent last year, spends more than four times as much as Japan on its armed forces.
\nAt the outset of Wednesday\u2019s talks, Chinese vice foreign minister Sun Weidong expressed concern over Japan\u2019s changing security posture.
\n\u201cThe international security situation has undergone vast changes and we are seeing the return of unilateralism, protectionism, and a Cold War mentality,\u201d the vice minister said at the start of the meeting.
\nHe also warned against Japan\u2019s \u201cnegative moves\u201d with regard to Taiwan, \u201cin collusion with powers outside the region\u201d.
\nFor his part, Japanese deputy foreign minister Shigeo Yamada highlighted concerns over the two neighbours\u2019 territorial dispute over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.
\nHe also raised issues with Beijing\u2019s recent joint military drills with Russia and the suspected Chinese surveillance balloons spotted over Japan\u2019s skies at least three times since 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tokyo China and Japan have kicked off their first formal security talks in four years, with Chinese officials expressing concern over Tokyo\u2019s military buildup and Japanese diplomats taking aim at Beijing\u2019s close ties with Russia and its suspected use of surveillance balloons. The talks, aimed at easing tensions, began in the Japanese capital on Wednesday. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":315459,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[18,605],"class_list":{"0":"post-315431","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-china","9":"tag-japan"},"yoast_head":"\n