China warns Japan against ‘external forces’ in talks with new top diplomat Takeshi Iwaya

Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomes ‘new atmosphere’, during 45-minute call with newly appointed Japanese counterpart Iwaya

Reading Time:2 minutes

Takeshi Iwaya (left) held his first phone call as foreign minister with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Photo: Kyodo, AFP

Published: 5:00pm, 10 Oct 2024Updated: 2:23am, 11 Oct 2024

China’s top diplomat warned his new Japanese counterpart against interference from “external forces” in the region amid rising concern in Tokyo about Beijing’s military activities in the region.

In their first phone call on Wednesday, Wang Yi and newly appointed Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya reaffirmed intentions to build constructive and stable bilateral ties, and strengthen strategic and mutually beneficial relations.

Wang hailed “positive signals” from Japan to “foster stable bilateral relations” and said he looked forward to “a new atmosphere within Japan’s new cabinet and new developments in Sino-Japanese relations”, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

Wang also told Iwaya that maintaining overall peace and stability in the region was a “hard-earned achievement and should be cherished amid a turbulent global environment”, the ministry said.

“The two sides should prevent external forces from provoking disturbances and stirring up regional confrontation,” he added, an apparent reference to Japan’s key ally the United States.

In his 45-minute conversation with Wang, Iwaya expressed “grave concerns” over intensifying Chinese military activities around Japan, including the first confirmed intrusion by Chinese military aircraft into Japanese airspace near islands in the southwestern prefecture of Nagasaki in late August.

Japan condemns Chinese military plane’s ‘totally unacceptable’ airspace incursion