Tokyo: Japan called China’s military exercises in response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan ‘concerning’ on Wednesday, but refrained from commenting on Pelosi’s visit to Asia.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a news conference that the government has conveyed concerns over the military operations to China, and reiterated that Japan hopes issues over the Taiwan Strait will be resolved through dialogue.
Japan has expressed concern to China over its military drills in waters around Taiwan, a government spokesman said Wednesday as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits the island. “The maritime areas announced by the Chinese side as those to be used for military exercises… overlaps with Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Considering the live-fire training nature of this military activity, Japan has expressed concerns to the Chinese side,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.
Earlier, Japan’s foreign minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, has sounded the alarm about China’s behaviour in the Indo-Pacific during a visit to Washington, saying the “logic of brute force” was gaining more traction over the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific.
Amid China’s warnings, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taipei on Tuesday for a visit to Taiwan that pushed the friction between Washington and Beijing to a new level.
