TOKYO – Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday expressed their shared “serious concern about growing regional tensions” following China’s large-scale military drills near Taiwan, Kyodo quoted the Japanese government a saying.
During their meeting in Tokyo, Hayashi and Guterres also agreed on the importance of easing tensions, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, with Beijing having commenced the exercises Thursday in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the self-ruled democratic island last week.
Pelosi visited the island, defying warnings from China which views Taiwan as a breakaway province that must eventually be brought under Beijing’s control, by force if necessary.
The Chinese military said Monday it will continue to conduct drills around Taiwan. It had said the drills would take place for four days through Sunday.
On the first day of the military exercises, 11 ballistic missiles were fired near Taiwan, according to its Defense Ministry. Five of the missiles fell into Japan’s exclusive economic zone, the Japanese government said, prompting Japan, the United States and Australia to demand China “immediately stop” the drills.
“China has been conducting military activities around Taiwan, and firing ballistic missiles into waters close to Japan, replicating North Korea,” Hayashi was quoted by the ministry as saying, referring to Pyongyang’s repeated ballistic missile tests since the start of this year.
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