China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, has said Japan has never had legal sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands. Hong made the remarks in response to Japan’s Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba, who recently rejected China’s claim to the Diaoyu Islands.
Japan’s Foreign Minister, Koichiro Gemba, said China only began asserting territorial sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands in the 1970s.
He suggested China previously did not view the islands as part of its territory.
In an attempt to support his claims, Gemba cited a letter sent from the then consul of the Republic of China in Nagasaki in 1920, and a Chinese map published in 1960.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, was quick to dismiss the documentation.
Hong Lei, Spokesman of Chinese Foreign Ministry, said, "Gemba’s materials are fragmented and taken out of context and it is not the first time he has done so. To prove his stance with such fragmented materials, regarding such a major and serious issue concerning national territory and sovereignty, only demonstrates that Japan has never legally owned the Diaoyu Islands."
Hong stressed that scholars from both China and Japan have conducted a full and accurate historical account of the Japanese theft of the Diaoyu Islands, in the 1895 Sino-Japanese war.
He has called on Japan to return to the negotiating table and maintain bilateral ties with concrete actions.
Hong said, "The Chinese government has noted recent remarks by the Japanese side that they hope to avoid further destabilization of ties. If Japan is serious about maintaining good bilateral relations, it should realize its mistake in using provocative words and actions. The Japanese side should return to negotiations with concrete actions, in order to solve this issue."
