Tokyo must remove political obstacles to improve ties with China, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said yesterday.

During a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso the first between the foreign ministers of the two countries in a year Li stressed that Japanese leaders' insistence on paying homage at the Yasukuni Shrine that honours convicted Japanese war criminals seriously hurts the Chinese people's feelings.

It also harms the political basis for bilateral ties and "it is imperative to remove such an obstacle," Li said.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has paid homage at the shrine, a symbol of Japan's past militarism, every year since taking office in 2001.

A correct understanding and treatment of history forms the political basis for bilateral ties, Li added.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the fifth ministerial meeting of the Asia Co-operation Dialogue in the Qatari capital of Doha, which ended yesterday.

Li said Sino-Japanese political ties are facing great difficulty, which is not in the interests of the peoples of the two countries.

China is willing to work with Japan to bring bilateral ties back on track, Li said, adding that the nation has always been ready to promote ties by drawing on lessons from history and looking to the future.

President Hu Jintao expounded on such policies in a meeting with a group of Japanese guests representing seven friendship associations on March 31, Li noted.

Aso said that the Japanese Government has taken note of Hu's remarks and hopes that the two sides have more dialogue and exchanges to enhance mutual understanding.

According to the Japanese media, the two countries have decided to speed up talks on solving the oil and gas dispute in the East China Sea.

Senior officials from the two countries met in Tokyo last week to discuss the issue, but made no progress.

The two ministers also agreed that it is important to promote people-to-people exchanges, especially among the young, and to continue military exchanges and engage in security dialogue at deputy minister-level.

Kyodo News quoted a Japanese official as saying the two sides agreed to resume senior working-level security talks, which have not been held since 2004, by the end of this year.

Researchers said they had not expected a major breakthrough from yesterday's meeting, but pointed out that holding a ministerial-level dialogue is in itself a positive step.

Su Hao, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, said the two countries recognize it is crucial to maintain the current dialogue mechanism; and such talks are necessary to stop bilateral ties worsening.

But he believes Sino-Japanese relations would not be mended in the short term.

In Tokyo, Japan's Coast Guard said officials from six countries including China, South Korea and Japan will start joint maritime exercises on Saturday to strengthen co-operation against the smuggling of weapons, drugs and people.

The United States, Canada and Russia will also take part in the exercise in the Japan Sea and East China Sea, the coast guard said in a statement yesterday.

Source: China Daily/Xinhua