East China Sea moves by China unacceptable, says Kishida

TOKYO • Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said yesterday that he was disappointed in China's efforts to develop areas in the East China Sea, saying that it was "unacceptable".

Speaking to reporters in the western city of Kyoto, he said that the government had lodged a complaint against China via diplomatic channels.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry released a statement on Friday confirming an increase in Chinese efforts to develop natural resources in the East China Sea, including in areas that are west of the midpoint between Japan and China.

One source of lasting tension between the world's second-and third-largest economies is a dispute over tiny islands in the East China Sea, which Japan controls but China also claims, and the waters around them.

US President Joe Biden is set to be in Japan this week for the first time since taking office for a meeting of the Quad grouping - which also comprises Australia and India - and is expected to use bilateral talks with Mr Kishida to hammer home concerns about Beijing.

Reports suggest the pair will issue a joint statement warning they are ready to "respond" to actions by China that undermine regional stability. But the tone of any Quad statement is likely to be softer, echoing past calls for a "free and open Indo-Pacific" and warnings against "unilateral" moves in the region - without directly naming China.

Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi raised issues including the islands disputed between the countries and the situation in the East and South China Seas in talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi last Wednesday - the first talks between foreign ministers of the two nations since November.

Mr Hayashi said both China and Japan "should say what needs to be said and engage in dialogue", warning that bilateral ties "face various difficulties and that public opinion in Japan is extremely severe towards China".

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE