China defence minister visits Japan, ties on mend

TOKYO, Aug 29 (Reuters) Chinese Defence Minister Cao Gangchuan arrived in Japan today in the first such visit in nearly 10 years, hoping to ease tensions after strained ties halted top-level military exchanges.

Cao may agree with newly appointed Japanese Defence Minister Masahiko Komura to set up a defence hotline, media say, but issues including China's ballooning military spending will also likely be on the agenda for their talks tomorrow.

''This visit is symbolic of a new phase in Sino-Japanese relations,'' said Tomoyuki Kojima, a professor at Tokyo's Keio University. ''It will contribute to the stability and security of the entire region.'' Ties have improved since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came to office almost a year ago, but numerous thorny issues remain to be solved.

''The visit is important because there are too many problems in bilateral ties,'' said Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Beijing's Renmin University.

''Mutual suspicion about each other's military ambitions is high, and there are several flashpoints,'' he added, referring to disputes over rights to natural resources in the East China Sea and other territorial rows.

Japan's participation in a U.S.-led ballistic missile shield in the region has sparked criticism in China, while Beijing's double-digit annual rises in military spending have been the focus of widespread concern.

The establishment of a hotline could help avoid maritime crises, such as a naval alert sparked by the unannounced arrival of a Chinese submarine in Japanese waters in 2004, Shi said.

Abe moved quickly to try to repair ties with China, visiting Beijing weeks after he took office last year.

Bilateral relations had sunk to their worst state in decades under his predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, who angered Beijing by making annual visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni war shrine, seen by many in Asia as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

But Abe, whose domestic support has tumbled in recent months, has recently appeared to be trying to woo back conservative supporters suspicious of Beijing.

In a speech last week to the Indian parliament, he made a renewed call for a ''broader Asia'' partnership of democracies that would include India, the United States and Australia -- but leave out China -- in what some see as a containment policy.

Japan will take part in a naval exercise with India, Singapore, Australia and the United States in the Bay of Bengal next month, and is set to hold its first-ever trilateral summit with Canberra and Washington next month.

Shi said that the effect of a single visit by the Chinese defence minister would be limited, but that the trip was a definite sign of progress.

''Along with other measures it will at least help maintain the momentum of the detente and reduce mistrust to a controllable level,'' he added.

The visit is set to be followed later in the year by the first-ever call by a Chinese warship at a Japanese port -- delayed since 2002. A Japanese ship is to pay a reciprocal visit to China next year.

Former Japanese Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba visited China for talks with his counterpart in 2003. The last Chinese defence minister to visit Japan was Chi Haotian, in February 1998.

REUTERS SZ SSC1341