Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan's foreign minister, met and spoke with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for the first time since November last year. Motegi disclosed that they had a brief discussion about bilateral relations while walking to a meeting with ASEAN foreign ministers in Manila. Although relations remain strained over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks about the possibility of Japan responding militarily if China uses force to attack Taiwan, Japan insists on maintaining channels of dialogue with China at all levels. This meeting is being watched as potentially paving the way for a meeting between Prime Minister Takaichi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen in November.