BEIJING -- China on Thursday attacked
Japan's prime minister as obstinate and wrong for saying his nation
won't compromise in their dispute over who owns tiny islands in the East
China Sea.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko
Noda said in New York a day earlier that the islands are clearly an
"inherent part of our territory, in light of history and international
law." He said that issues over the islands should be resolved peacefully
and by the rule of law.
"China is strongly
disappointed and sternly opposes the Japanese leader's obstinacy
regarding his wrong position" on the matter, Foreign Ministry spokesman
Qin Gang said in a statement that repeated China's stance that Japan was
ignoring historical facts and international laws.
"The
country seriously challenges the post-war international order, but
tries to take the rules of international law as a cover. This is
self-deceiving," Qin said in a separate statement.
Senior
diplomats from both countries have met this week in New York and
Beijing in an attempt to mend ties frayed by the spat over the island
group in the East China Sea known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in
China.
The islands, held by Japan, are
uninhabited but sit astride rich fishing waters and potentially large
reserves of natural gas. They are also claimed by Taiwan.
Japan's
purchase of some of the islands from their private Japanese owners two
weeks ago sparked sometimes violent protests in China that targeted
Japanese-owned stores and factories.
Noda
defended the purchase as an attempt to ensure their "stable management,"
but conceded "it seems that China has yet to understand that."
Associated Press