Japans move to buy several nearby uninhabited islands Wednesday was intended to maintain relative peace with China, which also claims ownership of the islands. <\/p>\n
But the decision is likely to inflame China-Japan relations further, as disputes between the two countries over the territories have escalated in recent months. <\/p>\n
Timeline: Disputes in the South China Sea <\/p>\n
Now, the United States has been drawn into the debate, as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabaowarned Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Wednesday that, the United States should respect Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity. <\/p>\n
By sovereignty, Wen was referring to territorial disputesthat have become major flash points between China and its neighbors. The United States has been increasingly vocal in supporting a less belligerent, collaborative negotiation process, the Washington Posts William Wan reported. <\/p>\n
The U.S. has so far avoided taking an official stance on the islands ownership, although diplomats have been asked to take sides. A Chinese reporter gained fame on Chinese social networks last week after pressing U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland on whether the U.S. considers the islands to be Chinese or Japanese. <\/p>\n
Reporter Ran Wei from Chinas state Xinhua News Agency began by asking Nuland for the official U.S. name for the uninhabited islands, which are known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu islands in China: <\/p>\n
RW: What is the official name for the Senkaku Islands for the United States? Is it the Diaoyu Islands or the Senkaku Islands? Or both are okay? <\/p>\n
VN: Im going to my special little rocks cheat sheet here because, this is getting quite complicated with different things here. <\/p>\n
RW: Yes, do you have one? <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
See the original post here: <\/p>\n
Tensions simmering between U.S., China over uninhabited islands\u2019 ownership<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Japans move to buy several nearby uninhabited islands Wednesday was intended to maintain relative peace with China, which also claims ownership of the islands. But the decision is likely to inflame China-Japan relations further, as disputes between the two countries over the territories have escalated in recent months. Continue reading