China refuses to resume negotiations with Japan over Senkaku Islands dispute

[News_Editor]

China refuses to resume negotiations with Japan over Senkaku Islands dispute

2010-10-29 23:42:20 GMT+7 (ICT)

HANOI, VIETNAM (BNO NEWS) -- Chinese officials on Friday denied that Beijing agreed to resume negotiations with Japan on the Senkaku Islands dispute in East China Sea, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue accused Japanese representatives of violating China's sovereignty and territorial integrity due to comments made to media during the summit between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its partners in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The controversy stemmed from a meeting held between Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his Japanese counterpart Seiji Maehara. In the meeting, Yang disclosed China's position in the issue and urged Japan to go in the same direction as China and to create a proper atmosphere and condition to implement the principles on the issue concerning East China Sea.

However, Japanese representatives told media that both countries agreed to boost efforts to improve their bilateral relationship by addressing the dispute on the Senkaku Islands and the maritime collision in the area.

Maehara told reporters that China agreed on improving ties and added that the two countries may hold a meeting during the Hanoi summit. The Japanese top official said he told the Chinese official about their "firm" position on the issue as Japan considers the islands as an integral part of the nation.

"The Japanese side was making untrue statements about the content of the meeting and distorted China's stance in implementing the principled consensus between the two countries on the East China Sea issue," spokesman Hu added.

China and Japan have been disputing the Senkaku Islands for many years. China claimed that they discovered the islands in the XVI century. Japan claimed the islands in 1895 as they were inhabited.

The dispute escalated after China discovered an undersea natural gas field in the East China Sea. Part of such field lies in the Chinese exclusive economic zone (EEZ) but the remaining is in the disputed EZZ between Tokyo and Beijing.

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