Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan urged his Japanese counterpart not to take any actions that might complicate the situation in the South China Sea, saying the waters were not an issue between the two countries.
Chang made the remarks, reported by China’s official Xinhua news agency Wednesday, in a meeting with Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani on the sidelines of aconference of Southeast Asian defense ministers in Kuala Lumpur. The gathering was overshadowed by disputes over the waters after the U.S. Navy last month sailed a warship to within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built by China, thus challenging its territorial claims.