Published: Feb. 25, 2013 at 4:15 PM<\/p>\n
BEIJING, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Activities by Japan regarding a group of islands in the East China Sea are \"illegal and invalid,\" a spokeswoman for China's foreign ministry said Monday. <\/p>\n
The remarks by Hua Chunying were in response to a speech last week by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. <\/p>\n
Abe said Japan's sovereignty over the islands, known as the Senkaku Islands by Japan as the Diaoyu Islands by China and Taiwan, wasn't questioned from 1895-1971. <\/p>\n
Hua said Abe's claims during the speech were \"ridiculous.\" <\/p>\n
\"The Diaoyu Islands are an inherent part of China's territory,\" she said at a news briefing. <\/p>\n
The spokeswoman said Japan \"did not fulfill its due international obligations\" after the end of World War II, by failing to return the islands to China. <\/p>\n
\"All Japanese activities regarding the Diaoyu Islands are based on illegal theft and occupation and are therefore illegal and invalid,\" she said. <\/p>\n
The islands represent little in terms of land mass but control over the group involves fishing rights and ownership of possible natural resources, such as oil, under the seabed. <\/p>\n
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China: Japan's claims to islands 'invalid'<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Published: Feb. 25, 2013 at 4:15 PM BEIJING, Feb Continue reading