The Maritime Self-Defense Force's highest-ranking officer will visit China for the first time next week to meet his counterpart in the People's Liberation Army Navy, the MSDF said Tuesday.
MSDF Chief of Staff Adm. Keiji Akahoshi will talk with Chinese naval chief Wu Shengli and other senior officials about the security environment in East Asia, antipiracy operations off Somalia and China's reported plans to build an aircraft carrier.
The talks will be held sometime during Akahoshi's four-day trip that starts Monday, the MSDF said.
"Military-level exchanges will help mutual understanding and enhance the transparency in defense policy," Akahoshi said at a news conference, adding the exchanges also will help build stability in the region.
As an area of particular interest, the admiral cited China's expanding navy and said he wants to "confirm with or rather ask" his counterpart about the reported aircraft carrier project.
The trip, which will take him to Beijing, Ningbo and Shanghai, is being made at the official invitation of Wu, who visited Japan last October.