Japan, China vow to maintain dialogue 'at all levels'

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During a fifty-minute phone call, Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, agreed to sustain dialogue between the countries "at all levels" and collaborate in many fields, the Japanese Foreign Ministry reported.

"Minister Hayashi stated that he would like to cooperate with Minister Qin in order to realize the broad direction of building a 'constructive and stable relationship,' which was an important shared recognition between the two leaders. Minister Qin expressed the same view... The two ministers concurred on continuing close communication at all levels, including at the summit level," a statement read.

The top diplomats have also agreed to strengthen ties in a variety of areas, most notably the green economy and health care, "people-to-people exchanges," the business environment, and economic activities, the statement added.

They also tackled current developments in the international arena.

"The two ministers exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine and confirmed continued close cooperation on the response to North Korea, including the immediate resolution of the abductions issue. The ministers also confirmed to strengthen communication in the United Nations Security Council," the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Foreign Ministry raised significant worries about the situation around the Senkaku Islands, China's military activities near Japan, and its cooperation with Russia.

China's top diplomat invited his Japanese counterpart to visit Beijing, with specific dates to be agreed upon later, Hayashi said at a press conference on Friday.

This comes a few days after five Japanese ships were reportedly forced out by Chinese coast guards,  from the waters encircling a cluster of islands in the East China Sea.

At the time, China urged Japan to refrain from illegal action near the islands.

The Diaoyu Islands are the subject of expanded territorial claims from China and Japan. China cites Japanese maps from 1783 and 1785 that show the islands as being in Chinese territory, whereas Japan, which calls them Senkaku Islands, argued that its rule over the islands has been in place since 1895. The Diaoyu Islands came under the US administration following World War II before being transferred to Japan in 1972.

Japan is of the opinion that China's claims to sovereignty over the islands stem from the 1970s discovery of lucrative minerals in their shelf waters. When the Japanese government acquired three of the five islands from a private owner in 2012, the territorial issue intensified.

This is also happening as Tokyo eyes a major arms buildup since World War Two, intensifying tensions with China while increasing its coordination with the West in the Asia Pacific region.