China says disputed islands in East China Sea are its territory

Beijing says the Diaoyu Islands, which Japan disputes, are Chinese territory and that it has the right to conduct law enforcement activities there, after a US military commander said China had conducted “unprecedented incursions” around the islands.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday that Beijing hoped the relevant parties would do more to uphold stability in the region instead of taking actions that were not conducive to peace and stability in the region.

He made the remarks in response to the commander of US Forces Japan, General Kevin Schneider, who said earlier in the day that Washington could help monitor the “unprecedented incursions” by Chinese ships around the disputed islands in the East China Sea.

The Diaoyu Islands, which are known as the Senkaku in Japan, are at the center of a festering row between Tokyo and Beijing.

Earlier this month, Japan accused China of “relentless” intrusions in waters around the group of islands.

Tokyo said it had spotted Chinese vessels in waters near the islands since mid-April.

The Japan Coast Guard said four Chinese Coast Guard ships had been spotted in waters around the Senkakus last week.

China maintains that it has indisputable sovereignty over the islands, but the Japanese government regards them as a part of its territory.