Regarding whether their foreign ministers spoke at ASEAN last week, China and Japan disagree.

Did China and Japan’s foreign ministers speak at last week’s ASEAN regional meeting, or didn’t they?

Last week, Japan’s Toshimitsu Motegi said he had a short chat about bilateral relations with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi when the two bumped into each other at the gathering in the Philippines.

But that was denied on Monday by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.

Asked about this at the regular briefing, Lin Jian replied, “I would like to stress once again that during Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Manila, there was no meeting scheduled with the Japanese side, and no brief exchanges took place on the site.”

The versions vary on the governments’ attitudes towards a severe deterioration in ties since November, when a comment about Taiwan by Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi infuriated China.

Japan is seeking opportunities to improve relations, but China has given its neighbor the cold shoulder.

The tensions have also seeped into the economy, notably a decline in the number of Chinese tourists to Japan, and increased worry in both nations over the growth of each other’s militaries.

“As we have repeatedly pointed out, Japan is open to dialogue at all levels, and I think it is extremely important that we continue our dialogue as both Japan and China bear a major responsibility for regional peace,” Motegi said last week.

Motegi said he and Wang talked relations, but Japanese media suggested the exchange was primarily hello and niceties.

Takaichi said at a news conference Monday that the two sides are engaging in communication at many levels, including Motegi’s exchange with Wang.

Shortly after she became prime minister in November, she was asked in parliament whether a Chinese blockade of Taiwan or other military action would be a scenario in which Japan could get engaged under a concept known as collective self-defense.

The policy permits Japan’s military to assist an ally — most likely the United States — if specific conditions like the survival of Japan are met.

The Taiwan example may fit the criteria, Takaichi said. “If it involves the use of warships and military actions, it could by all means become a survival-threatening situation,” she added.

China said the comment breached red lines in its dealings with foreign countries. The government has opposed any statements or acts, including U.S. weaponry supplies to Taiwan, that assist what it calls Taiwan independence forces in its drive to seize control of Taiwan. Taiwan is an island that governs itself, yet China says it belongs to China.

Takaichi has refused to back down from her answer but subsequently told the same parliamentary committee she would steer clear of talking about particular self-defense circumstances in the future.