Reference News, a subsidiary publication of Xinhua News, recently reported on December 29, that on the
December 27, Chinese State Councillor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe held a video conference with
Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi. The call took about two hours, which exceeded the original
scheduled time. The two Defense Ministers agreed to strengthen bilateral strategic communication and
manage risks to prevent conflicts from escalating. Also, they agreed that a defense hotline will be established
in 2022. The Japanese Cabinet recently approved a preliminary budget for 2022. The annual increase in the
defense budget was 1.1 percent. It not only marks the tenth consecutive year of growth in Japan’s defense
budget, but also breaks Japan’s long-standing rule of capping the increase in the defense budget at under one
percent of the nation’s GDP. Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao also reported
on this news and indicated that, during the call, Nobuo Kishi emphasized the importance of maintaining
stability in the Taiwan Strait. This point was left out in the Reference News report
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