TOKYO (AP) – The Japanese Foreign Minister and Defense Secretary on Wednesday expressed deep concern to their British counterparts about a new Chinese maritime law that went into effect two days earlier.
“Japan remains vigilant and is paying close attention to the effect on us,” said Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in online conversations between the two sides. “I think the law should not be used in a way that is contrary to international law.”
Japan sees the escalating influence of China and military activity in the region as a threat to security and has stepped up defense cooperation with the US, Australia, Southeast Asian countries and Great Britain.
China’s new coastguard law, which increases the likelihood of clashes with regional rivals, allows the force to “take any necessary action, including the use of weapons, when national sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction are illegally violated by foreign organizations. or individuals at sea. “
It also authorizes the Coast Guard to demolish other countries’ structures built in areas claimed by China, and to confiscate or order foreign ships illegally entering China’s territorial waters to leave.
Note: UK has applied to join the trans-Pacific trade group
“We want to share with you our deep concern” about the law, Motegi, accompanied by Defense Secretary Nobuo Kishi, told British counterparts Dominic Raab and Ben Wallace, who joined them from London.
The China Coast Guard operates near disputed East China Sea islands controlled by Japan but claimed by Beijing. China also claims almost the entire South China Sea.
The Coast Guard’s activities have brought it into frequent contact with the Japanese Coast Guard and Air Force.
In a joint statement released after the talks, ministers expressed “grave concern” at the mounting tensions in the regional seas and urged all parties to “withdraw and refrain from activities leading to tensions, in particular militarization and coercion ”.
They also expressed “serious concern” about China’s crackdown on the opposition in Hong Kong and “gross human rights violations against Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang,” the statement said.
Ministers also agreed to deepen defense and security cooperation between Japan and Britain to ensure a “free and open Indo-Pacific” vision promoting Japan with the US, Australia and India to counter China. .
Japan and Great Britain are jointly developing an air-to-air missile defense system and increasing the interoperability of defense equipment and technology as their forces work more closely together.
Kishi welcomed the planned deployment of a British aircraft carrier to East Asia this year as part of Britain’s growing commitment to the region.
Wallace said the strike group’s visit to Asia, led by the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, was “the most important Royal Navy deployment in a generation”.
The UK government, seeking to bolster the country’s global profile after Brexit, said the UK-Japan meeting was part of an “Indo-Pacific tilt” towards Asian allies.
Raab said the new focus “shows our shared priorities and common strategic interests, from maritime security to climate change and free trade.”
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Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.
Originally published