VALLETTA (Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Maltese counterpart Joseph Muscat affirmed on Saturday the importance of the rule of law at sea in a meeting in Malta amid concerns about the situation in the East and South China seas.
The affirmation in their talks held during the first visit by a sitting Japanese premier to the Mediterranean island nation comes as Japan and some other Asian countries remain concerned about China's expansionary activities in the East and South China seas.
China has made claims to much of the South China Sea, as well as to the uninhabited Senkaku Islands administered by Japan in the East China Sea.
In Malta, the International Maritime Law Institute operates under the United Nations' International Maritime Organization to train specialists in maritime law.
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