Japan’s ambassador to Australia has said his country and mainland China must keep “proper” communication channels open over Taiwan to avoid misunderstandings.

Kazuhiro Suzuki also urged Australia to help strengthen “joint deterrence” with Japan in what he described as “turbulent” times when speaking at an event at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday.

“At the moment …[it] is extremely important to have a proper line of communication at the high level and also at the various levels so that there will be no misunderstanding between the countries involved,” he said.

“I think at least our government, from the top level, is very much willing to talk with the Chinese government,” he said, but added that how Beijing would respond remained to be seen.

Suzuki also said he was not in a position to answer when asked if he thought that the international community was helping Taiwan to “prepare well enough” for a potential attack from the mainland.