(VOVworld) – Senior officials of Japan and China on Wednesday began a two-day negotiations on maritime issues to prevent clashes in the East China Sea.

Leaders of China and Japan held talks in Hangzhou on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

The talks were held in Hiroshima, Japan, amid escalating tensions between the two countries over the disputed water near the islands known to the Japanese as Senkaku and to the Chinese as Diaoyu. The talks focused on making progress toward the early launch of a “Maritime and aerial communication mechanism” between their defense officials to avert miscalculations that could lead to conflict.

They also discussed the resumption of negotiations on joint gas exploitation in the East China Sea, which was agreed in 2008 but later halted due to strained bilateral territorial and historical issues.