Scholar unveils bold plan to rebuild trust

Major General Zhu Chenghu, a professor at China's National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army, surprised his Japanese counterparts at a symposium over the weekend when he proposed a bold 25-step plan for rebuilding trust between the two defense authorities.

Pessimism clouds the military-to-military relationship between the two largest economies in Asia after a dispute flared over China's Diaoyu Islands in 2012.

The number of high-level official encounters has dropped drastically and observers worry that regional stability could be undermined by frequent bickering between the two defense ministries over friction in the East China Sea and even in international waters en route to the Pacific Ocean.