We may need enough defenses to discourage China from taking actions that threaten the regional peace and stability.

But if we depend excessively on a military approach, it cannot be ruled out that tensions will heighten on the contrary and could even trigger a contingency.

We should keep in mind that we need persistent efforts for dialogue and state clearly that we are seeking a peaceful coexistence with China.

Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi met their U.S. counterparts, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, online on Jan. 7 for the first “two-plus-two” talks to be held under the Kishida administration.

The joint statement released following the previous two-plus-two talks in March last year had been characterized by its tough tone against China.

For example, it criticized the country’s high-handed maritime advances in the South China Sea and the East China Sea and expressed serious concerns about the human rights situation in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. It also referred explicitly to the “importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”

The joint statement released after the latest talks reiterated that understanding and took a step further in demonstrating a resolve to “deter and, if necessary, respond to” China’s activities. It also welcomed progress on “bilateral planning for contingencies.”

While Kishi declined to disclose what these phrases mean, they are likely veiled references to a military encounter in the Taiwan Strait.

The document also said that Japan and the United States will work together in the field of emerging technologies.

For example, the two countries plan to increase their joint use of military bases, including in Japan’s southwestern Nansei Islands, and work to counter hypersonic missiles. The missiles, being developed by China, Russia and North Korea, are considered difficult to intercept.

But we cannot help but feel concerns that attempts to block China’s challenge with force could only lead to a rat race of countermeasures.

It should be recalled that deterrence only works when countries involved accurately understand each other’s capabilities and intentions and share a certain level of mutual trust.

That requires communication, which unfortunately does not appear to be sufficiently at work with China.

No one would benefit from a military clash. On the other hand, countries should work together to address a host of challenges, from climate change to the novel coronavirus.

Peaceful coexistence will only benefit both parties. A comprehensive approach that embraces diplomacy and economic ties as well will be indispensable toward that end.

The latest two-plus-two talks were held as COVID-19 cases, which likely have origins in the U.S. military, were surging in prefectures such as Okinawa and Yamaguchi.

Japanese representatives were right in strongly demanding the U.S. side impose stricter measures against a further spread of infections, including restrictions on U.S. personnel leaving the grounds of military bases.

U.S. officials were quoted as saying they would do everything they could. But concerns will not be dispelled among local residents and local government officials unless effective measures are implemented.

At the root of the problem is the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement, which says domestic laws, including on quarantine, do not apply to the U.S. military in Japan.

But a review of SOFA was not discussed during the talks. Both Hayashi and Kishi clearly said during their news conferences that they are not thinking about a possible amendment.

At the talks, the two countries confirmed the shared stance that relocating U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan to the Henoko district of Nago, also in Okinawa Prefecture, is the “only solution.”

However, military bases cannot be operated stably without an understanding from residents of hosting communities.

We should not forget that the Japan-U.S. alliance needs the support of the peoples of both nations at its root.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 8