Japan's and China's foreign ministers tangled over territorial disputes Monday even as they appealed for steadier relations between the Asian rivals.
China's Foreign Ministry lodged a complaint about a flotilla of Japanese fishing boats that took members of right-wing groups Sunday near islands controlled by Japan, which calls them the Senkakus, but claimed by Beijing, which calls them the Diaoyus.
Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto, in Beijing for talks, expressed concern about recent Chinese naval operations in waters off Japan and elsewhere in the region.
"There is apprehension that tensions between countries could increase," Matsumoto told Japanese reporters.
The complaints show how lingering disputes continue to buffet ties between the world's second- and third-largest economies even as they seek ways to cooperate.
Ahead of their talks, Matsumoto and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi had both called for improved relations. The two "exchanged opinions and reached consensus on issues that the two nations are concerned about," said Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who later met with Matsumoto. He did not give details.
Ties between Japan and China have been strained for years over a contested gas field in the East China Sea and lingering animosity over Japan's often brutal World War II-era occupation of China as well as the island dispute.
A new irritant was added last month after Japan and its ally the United States jointly agreed that China should act more responsibly to reduce tensions in the region. Japan aside, China has been at odds with South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines over contested claims and navigation rights.
After meeting Yang, Matsumoto told Japanese media that the international community "shares an interest in freedom of navigation and maritime safety" and that he sought China's cooperation to prevent heightened tensions from escalating further.
Matsumoto said Tokyo would make efforts to secure freedom of navigation and maritime security as the Japanese and U.S. foreign and defense ministers had agreed at the Washington meeting, according to Kyodo, the Japanese news agency.
Matsumoto was also expected to press China to further ease restrictions on Japanese food imports imposed after radiation leaks from Japan's tsunami-crippled nuclear plant tainted some food products. Matsumoto is the first Japanese cabinet minister to visit China since the March earthquake and tsunami that set off the nuclear crisis.
