China complains to Japan over fishermen in disputed waters

China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it had complained to Japan about Japanese fishing boats operating in waters around a disputed and uninhabited group of islands in the East China Sea.
"China has lodged solemn representations with the Japanese side, and demands Japan immediately withdraws fishing boats from the relevant seas," ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a brief statement on the ministry's website (www.mfa.gov.cn).
"Any actions taken by Japan in the seas around the Diaoyu Islands are illegal and invalid," he added.
China and Japan have bickered for years over the group of uninhabited islets, known as Senkaku in Japan. They are also claimed by Taiwan.
Hong said he understood that the fishing boats had left the area.
"The Diaoyu Islands and attached islets have been Chinese territory since ancient times, and China has incontrovertible sovereignty over them," he said.
The latest flair-up in tension has happened as Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto is visiting China for talks about the intense but often icy ties between Asia's top two economies.
Last week, China lambasted Japan after a confrontation between a Taiwanese fishing boat and a Japanese coast guard vessel near the islands.
China considers self-ruled and democratic Taiwan part of its territory, and has in the past weighed in over disputes between Taiwanese and Japanese ships around the islands.
Activists from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan periodically try to visit the seas around the islands, or even the islands themselves, to promote rival sovereignty claims.
In September 2010, Japan detained a Chinese trawler captain after his boat collided with Japanese coastguard ships near the isles. Beijing cancelled diplomatic meetings with Tokyo in protest until he was released.
The two countries are also at odds over China's exploration for natural gas in the same area. In 2008, they agreed to resolve the feud by jointly developing gas fields.
But progress has been slow and Japan has accused China of drilling for gas in violation of the deal.