Nov. 25 (UPI) — President Donald Trump requested and held a phone conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shortly after speaking with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Takaichi confirmed Tuesday.

The U.S. president’s phone calls with the two leaders came amid their growing feud over the sovereignty of Taiwan and Japan’s stance on that issue.

Takaichi told reporters Tuesday that Trump sought out the call with her and briefed her on his conversation Monday with Xi. She declined to reveal any details about Trump and Xi’s talk, Kyodo News reported.

Takaichi said her conversation with Trump reaffirmed the two countries’ relationship.

“We were able to confirm close coordination between Japan and the United States,” she said, according to The Japan Times. “President Trump stated that he and I are extremely close friends and that he would like me to call him anytime.”

Japan and China have been locked in a row for more than two weeks after Takaichi indicated Japan could deploy defense resources to protect itself in the event that China’s military attacks Taiwan, presenting a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan. Japan’s Yonaguni Island sits about 68 miles from Taiwan.

Historically, Japan has walked a diplomatic tight rope concerning Taiwan, expressing interest in a relationship with Taipei and peace within the Taiwan Strait, without explicitly saying how it would respond to military action in Taiwan, the Times reported.

Takaichi said her comments Nov. 7 were in response to a hypothetical question about possible military action in Taiwan and don’t change the government’s stance on the island. She has declined to retract her remarks according to Beijing’s demands.

China further took issue with Japan after its defense department deployed missiles to a base on Yonaguni Island. The Times reported the missiles have a range of about 31 miles and are considered by some experts to be defensive weapons.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning described the weapons as “offensive” and said moving them to Yonaguni Island “breeds regional tensions and stokes military confrontation.”

“Give Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s erroneous remarks on Taiwan, this move is extremely dangerous and should put Japan’s neighboring countries and the international community on high alert,” she said.

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the missiles help prevent an attack on Japan.

“The view that it will heighten regional tensions in inaccurate, he said Sunday.

Taiwan became the independent refuge of Chinese nationalists after communist forces took control of the mainland in 1949. But China has long laid claim to Taiwan and hinted at using military force, if necessary, to assert its territorial claim to the self-ruling island nation.