Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi is in talks to arrange a face-to-face meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe, scheduled to take place in Singapore during the upcoming Shangri-La Dialogue international Asia-Pacific security conference there 10-12 June.

It will be the first contact between the two countries' military chiefs since December 2019 amid a very chilled relationship between Beijing and Tokyo in recent times, the Yomiuri newspaper reported Wednesday, citing Japanese government sources.

According to them, the meeting is expected to include consultations aimed at introducing a direct line of communication between the leadership of the two countries' armed forces within a year in the interest of preventing accidental incidents. The agreement on its creation was reached back in May 2018 amid a confrontation between Chinese and Japanese warships in the area of the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands in the East China Sea, which Beijing disputes from Tokyo. However, the direct communication line is still inoperative due to a number of technical problems and periodically escalating tensions between the two countries.

The Japanese government accuses China of non-transparent military preparations, attempts to take control of sea lanes in the region, and increasing tension in the Taiwan area. Beijing, for its part, sees U.S. and Japanese policies as interference in its affairs, attempts to unwind an arms race and escalate tensions in the region.

During the conference in Singapore, the Chinese defense minister is also expected to meet personally with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin.

The Shangri-La Dialogue is traditionally held every year in Singapore, but the last two years the forum was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.