Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi take part in a joint press conference in Tokyo May 28, 2026. — AFP pic (New users only) It's tax relief season! Get up to RM300 when you save with Versa! Plus, enjoy an additional FREE RM10 when you sign up using code VERSAMM10 with a min. cash-in of RM100 today. T&Cs apply. Friday, 29 May 2026 5:25 PM MYT BEIJING, May 29 — China expressed strong opposition today to a decision by Japan and the Philippines to start maritime border negotiations, calling the talks “illegal” and claiming exclusive control over the waters concerned.The two island nations announced yesterday they would start formal talks “to delimit the maritime boundary” of an economic zone and continental shelf between them, as Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos met Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on a visit to Tokyo.But Beijing again asserted today that it has an “exclusive economic zone and continental shelf” in the waters to the east of Taiwan.“China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to this,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular news conference when asked about the delimitation talks between Tokyo and Manila.“China solemnly declares that the so-called delimitation negotiations between Japan and the Philippines are entirely illegal and invalid,” Mao said.Beijing has “lodged solemn representations” with both countries, she added.Manila and Tokyo’s shared grievances over Chinese maritime territorial claims have seen them draw increasingly close in recent years.Japan and China are in territorial and economic disputes in the East China Sea, where coastguard ships from both sides routinely stage dangerous standoffs.Beijing has meanwhile deployed navy and coast guard vessels in the South China Sea, in a bid to bar the Philippines from strategically important reefs and islands, leading to a string of confrontations. — AFP