TOKYO (AFP) — China has removed its last buoy from Japanese economic waters, a Japan Coast Guard spokesperson said Thursday, in what may be a move by Beijing to improve ties.

Japan said in December it had spotted a new buoy in its exclusive economic zone south of Yonaguni Island, near Taiwan, and demanded that China remove it immediately.

The Japan Coast Guard issued a statement late Wednesday saying that the buoy was no longer in place.

A spokesperson told Agence France-Presse on Thursday that this means all Chinese buoys in Japanese economic waters have been removed.

Japanese media said this could signal an intention by Beijing to improve strained ties with Tokyo, as China faces political and economic pressure from United States President Donald Trump’s government.

“I decline to speculate on China’s intentions,” top government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Thursday when asked about the removal of the buoy.