New Delhi, July 28 -- Did the foreign ministers of China and Japan talk at last week's ASEAN regional meeting, or didn't they?

Japan's Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters last week that he had briefly discussed bilateral relations with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi when they ran into each other during the meeting in the Philippines.

But on Monday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson contradicted that.

"Let me make it clear once again that during his visit to Manila, Foreign Minister Wang Yi did not have a meeting with the Japanese side on his schedule, nor did any brief exchanges take place on the site," Lin Jian said when asked at the daily briefing.

The differing accounts reflect the positions of the governments over a sharp deterior...