Ishiba presses Chinas Li on airspace intrusion

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called for a "full explanation" of an airspace intrusion by a Chinese military aircraft in his first face-to-face meeting with Premier Li Qiang, the Japanese government said Friday.

"Prime Minister Ishiba reiterated Japan's serious concerns about the situation in the East China Sea, including... the intensification of Chinese military activities in areas surrounding Japan," Japan's foreign ministry said after Thursday's meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Laos.

In particular, Ishiba said he wanted "a full explanation of the intrusion into Japan's territorial airspace" by a Chinese military aircraft in August.

Ishiba, on his first official trip abroad since taking office last week, also highlighted the passage of China's Liaoning aircraft carrier between two Japanese islands near Taiwan for the first time last month.

Soon afterwards, a Japanese warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait for the first time, drawing an angry response from Beijing.

Ishiba, 67, also urged China to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals after the fatal stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy in Shenzhen last month, and other recent incidents.

He also "expressed Japan's serious concerns about the situations in the South China Sea, Hong Kong, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and others", and stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

But Ishiba and Li agreed on the need for "constructive and stable" ties and said they would "maintain multi-layered communications between Japan and China at all levels, including at the summit level".

Beijing announced last month it would gradually ease a ban on Japanese seafood imports imposed in 2023 over the release of treated wastewater from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant.

Japanese media said Ishiba wants to ease tensions with an eye towards a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Ishiba has in the past called for a NATO-style Asian pact with the unstated goal of offering protection against China.

Li made a swipe at this during talks Thursday between ASEAN leaders and China, Japan and South Korea.

He warned of the danger of "attempts to introduce bloc confrontation and geopolitical conflicts into Asia".