President Barack Obama warned China the U.S. would protect East China Sea islands administered by Japan and urged the two countries to peacefully resolve a territorial dispute that has raised tensions across Asia.

Obama, speaking today after a meeting in Tokyo with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said that a security treaty between the U.S. and Japan covers all territory that is administered by Japan. The commitment to defend the area is longstanding and he was not drawing a new red line with China over the issue, Obama said.

Chinas assertiveness in its territorial claims is adding pressure on Obama to demonstrate a commitment to defend allies in Asia at a time when Russias push into Ukraine has raised questions about U.S. resolve. No country should feel emboldened by actions such as Russias annexation last month of Crimea, Obama said.

The alternative is a situation in which large countries like the United States or China, or Russia, or other countries feel as if whenever they think its expedient, they can take actions that disadvantage smaller countries, Obama told reporters at a joint briefing with Abe.

Obama met Abe on the first day of a four-nation Asian swing that will also take him to South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines. Talks will focus on promoting pending free-trade agreements and addressing regional security matters such as North Koreas nuclear weapons program and Chinas efforts to assert its claims to much of the East and South China seas.

Standing next to Abe, Obama reiterated that the U.S. views Japan as the sole administrator of the disputed islands, which the president referred to by their Japanese name, Senkaku. China has challenged Japans control of the uninhabited islands, called Diaoyu in Chinese, through the positioning of ships and flying of surveillance aircraft.

It is significant that Obama has become the first president to say categorically that the U.S.-Japan security treaty applies to all Japanese-held territories -- including the disputed islands, said Tina Burrett, assistant professor of politics at Sophia University in Tokyo. However, the fact that Obama had to say this highlights the lack of confidence in the alliance felt by some on the Japanese side.

China opposes the islands being included in the security agreement between Japan and the U.S., Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in Beijing today.

No matter what others say or do, they cant change the fact that Diaoyu has been under Chinas sovereignty, and it wont shake the Chinese governments determination and will to protect its sovereignty and marine interests, Qin said.

In November, China declared an air defense identification zone over a large part of the East China Sea. Japan has ignored Chinas demands that it file flight plans before sending planes through the zone, while aircraft and ships from the two countries regularly tail each other around the islands. Japan on April 19 broke ground on a new radar base on its westernmost island to improve surveillance in the area.

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Obama Says U.S. Will Defend Japan-Administered Islands