Japan, China talks fail amid territorial spatSeptember 25, 2012 - 20:54 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Diplomats from China and Japan failed to ease tensions over a territorial dispute as the Japanese Coast Guard used water cannons to drive off Taiwanese vessels near the islands at the center of the spat, according to Bloomberg. Japan’s move this month to buy the islands was “blatantly illegal,” China’s Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun told Japanese counterpart Chikao Kawai today in Beijing, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement. While the two sides agreed to further discussions, Kawai said no consensus had been reached to hold a foreign ministers’ meeting this week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Kyodo News reported. The meeting was the first since protests in China last week damaged operations for Japanese companies such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Aeon Co. Japan’s purchase of the islands, known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diayou in Chinese, exacerbated the worst diplomatic crisis since 2005, which has threatened a $340 billion trade relationship between Asia’s two biggest economies. About 50 Taiwanese fishing boats and patrol vessels left waters administered by Japan after the Japanese Coast Guard fired water cannons at them this morning, the Coast Guard said in a statement. Five Chinese government boats were also spotted in or near what Japan calls its “contiguous zone,” according to a separate statement. “We will continue to guard the area around the Senkakus intensely and remain in contact with the relevant agencies,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters today in Tokyo. The clash between the Coast Guard and the Taiwanese boats was broadcast on NHK Television. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Ucom Celebrates Telecommunication Day May 17 commemorates the founding of the International Telecommunication Union on May 17, 1865. Armenian, Azerbaijani heads of parliament meet in Switzerland President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Border residents overnight on highway to protest Armenia’s Residents of Kirants continue to express outrage over the government’s decision to cede land to Azerbaijan. Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. |