Japan and China plan to sign an Agreement on Search and Rescue Regions (SAR agreement, see below) shortly, aiming to implement the agreement by the end of this year, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The SAR agreement provides the way for cooperation concerning maritime search and rescue operations. By clearly stipulating the cooperation system for search and rescue activities in maritime accidents in surrounding ocean areas, the Japanese and Chinese governments aim to build mutual trust.
According to informed sources, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping will agree on the signing of the SAR agreement at a bilateral meeting to be held in Beijing on Oct. 26.
The SAR agreement stipulates that both Japan and China will take emergency measures such as search and rescue operations in case of maritime accidents in surrounding ocean areas of both countries and that relevant authorities will share information and have consultations, the sources said. With the confrontation over the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture in mind, ocean areas of responsibility for both countries will not be determined, according to the sources.
At present, when a maritime accident occurs in an ocean area straddling territorial waters of Japan and China, the Japan Coast Guard and the China maritime search and rescue center handle such accidents by contacting each other. The two governments plan to include a provision that both authorities will engage in maritime search and rescue operations in the same way as before, so that operational areas of the two countries will not expand in the future. Japan also aims to prevent a situation of the Chinese side landing on the Senkaku Islands under the pretense of rescue operations.
Japan and China began talks on the agreement in May 2010, and reached a broad agreement in December 2011. However, since the Japanese government put the Senkaku Islands under state control in September 2012, the talks have been stalled.
At a meeting between Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during Li's visit to Japan in May, the two leaders agreed on the recognition that the peace and stability of the East China Sea is the foundation of improvement in Japan-China relations, and reaffirmed that they would make the East China Sea a "Sea of Peace, Cooperation and Friendship." The Japan-China SAR agreement is aimed at translating that idea into a reality.
In May, Japan and China formally agreed to start the operation of the Maritime and Aerial Communication Mechanism between the defense authorities of Japan and China, which is aimed at avoiding accidental clashes between the Self-Defense Forces and the Chinese military in the East China Sea. However, the installment of a hotline between defense officials of both countries has not been realized due to China's delay in handling the issue. If the two countries manage to sign the SAR agreement, it is also expected to give a boost to the effective operation of the mechanism.
Intrusions of Chinese government vessels into Japan's territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands have declined recently, according to a source close to the Japanese government. The Japanese government hopes to urge the Chinese side to exercise more restraint by deepening the relationship of trust with China in maritime affairs.
In addition, there is growing momentum toward strengthening defense cooperation between Japan and China. Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya and his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe held a defense ministers' meeting in Singapore on Friday, the first in about three years. The resumption of defense exchanges between Japan and China, which have halted, will be up for discussion at the Japan-China summit meeting scheduled on Oct. 26.
-- SAR agreement
The SAR agreement refers to an Agreement on Search and Rescue Regions. It is a bilateral legal framework that provides a cooperation system in maritime search and rescue operations. An international convention concerning maritime search and rescue activities requires signatory nations to individually conclude the agreement with neighboring countries. Japan has concluded the SAR agreement separately with the United States, Russia and South Korea.
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