Thursday, July 12, 2012 <\/p>\n
Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met Japanese counterpart Koichiro Gemba in Phnom Penh where he \"reaffirmed China's principled position\" on the islands, known as Senkaku in Japanese, and Diaoyu in Chinese. <\/p>\n
\"He stressed the Diaoyu Islands and their affiliated islets have always been China's territory since ancient times, over which China has indisputable sovereignty,\" the Chinese delegation said. <\/p>\n
Japan summoned the Chinese ambassador in Tokyo as three patrol boats approached the chain of islands. <\/p>\n
The crew of the vessels, which have since left the islands' immediate vicinity, initially rebuffed Japanese orders to leave. <\/p>\n
\"We are conducting official duty in Chinese waters. Do not interfere. Leave China's territorial waters,\" the crews said, according to Japan Coast Guard. <\/p>\n
The waters around the disputed islands, which are close to oil reserves, have been the scene of previous rows, including the arrest of a Chinese trawlerman in late 2010. <\/p>\n
Yesterday's spat is the latest clash over disputed territory between China and its neighbors that threatens to overshadow attempts to smooth regional relations at an Asian security summit in Cambodia this week. <\/p>\n
The 10 members of Southeast Asian regional body ASEAN have been trying to agree a long-stalled \"code of conduct\" for the South China Sea that would help settle overlapping claims in the resource-rich waterway. <\/p>\n
The Philippines is leading a push for ASEAN to unite to persuade China to accept a code based on a United Nations law on maritime boundaries that would delineate the areas belonging to each country. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Islands spat with Tokyo flares again<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Thursday, July 12, 2012 Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met Japanese counterpart Koichiro Gemba in Phnom Penh where he \"reaffirmed China's principled position\" on the islands, known as Senkaku in Japanese, and Diaoyu in Chinese. \"He stressed the Diaoyu Islands and their affiliated islets have always been China's territory since ancient times, over which China has indisputable sovereignty,\" the Chinese delegation said Continue reading