The Japanese and Chinese governments are making final arrangements in a bid to officially agree on starting the "maritime and air communication mechanism" -- a new military communication channel aimed at avoiding accidental clashes between defense forces -- at a bilateral meeting of the leaders scheduled to be held in Tokyo in early May, according to sources.
With the confrontation over the Senkaku Islands in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, in mind, an initial focal point for both sides was how to stipulate the exact area of the mechanism.
However, they will likely prioritize the agreement and not specify the geographical coverage, the sources said.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to hold a trilateral meeting with leaders from China and South Korea in Tokyo in early May, and a separate meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
Abe and Li intend to tout the agreement on the mechanism as a concrete result of the bilateral meeting, and emphasize the improvement of the bilateral relationship, according to the sources.
The main pillars of the mechanism include the installment of a hotline between defense authorities and direct communication to deal with cases of vessels, aircraft and other vehicles approaching each other.
The Japanese and Chinese governments will hold a high-level working-level maritime meeting of foreign and defense authorities in Japan in April to finalize details for the agreement.
Operation of the mechanism is scheduled to begin in May.
Both governments agreed in 2007 on establishing the mechanism.
To avoid the Chinese military approaching the Senkaku Islands, an integral part of Japan's territory, the government has insisted that territorial waters and airspace should be excluded from the area covered by the mechanism, while China has argued they should be included.
As a result, the talks have been stalled.
According to sources related to both governments, both sides confirmed they would not clarify the target area of the mechanism and would not violate the legal positions of the two countries, and came close to an agreement at a high-level working-level maritime meeting in China in December last year.
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