Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama (L) shakes hands with Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jianchao ahead of talks between defense and foreign affairs officials from the two countries in Tokyo, on March 19, 2015. (Photo: Kyodo)

The diplomat told a press conference in Tokyo after the first bi-lateral security dialogue since January, 2011, that Japan and China have agreed to speed up work on a communications mechanism to avoid accidental clashes at sea or in the air. The two sides haven’t yet discussed details or a time frame for implementing that mechanism.
Japan has urged China to improve the transparency of its annual double-digit defense budget increase in each of the last 25 years, except in 2010.