Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada had a 20-minute phone call with his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu, according to AFP citing a statement from the Japanese Defense Ministry.

"[Minister] Hamada mentioned the existence of security concerns between Japan and China, such as the situation in the East China Sea," the Japanese Defense Ministry said. Hamada stressed the "need for frank communication, especially when there are concerns about Japan-China relations."

Beijing also confirmed the May 16 phone call, saying the new hotline would "contribute to further maintaining regional peace and stability," according to AFP.

The hotline, set up on March 31, has been discussed by both sides for more than 10 years as a way to prevent accidental clashes in the East China Sea. The dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea has long been a source of tension between the two countries.

Japan, wary of China's growing military might, has publicly protested the presence of Chinese ships around disputed islets and in other areas.

As the world's second and third largest economies respectively, China and Japan are important trading partners, and last year marked 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

However, relations between the two countries have often been tense and worsened in December 2022, when Japan announced a security overhaul that included higher defense spending, calling China its "biggest strategic challenge ever," according to AFP.

Still, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recently said he wanted a "constructive and stable" relationship with China.

Prime Minister Kishida met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia last year and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi also visited Beijing last month, the first visit to China by a Japanese foreign minister since December 2019, according to AFP.

This week, Prime Minister Kishida will host G7 leaders in Hiroshima, Japan, where the bloc's relationship with China will be high on the agenda.

At a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in April, seen as a precursor to the upcoming summit, the group warned Beijing about "militarization activities" in the South China Sea, according to AFP.