U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has issued a veiled warning to China saying the United States opposed any challenge to Japan's rule over the disputed islands.
Clinton called for a peaceful settlement on the disputed islands -- known as the Senkaku in Japanese and the Diaoyu in Chinese -- but made clear that they fell under the US security treaty with Japan.
"As I've said many times before, although the United States does not take a position on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands, we acknowledge they are under the administration of Japan, and we oppose any unilateral actions that would seek to undermine Japanese administration and we urge all parties to take steps to prevent incidents and manage disagreements through peaceful means." Clinton said.
In Beijing, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said China is on "high alert" and suggested Japan is escalating the tensions over the islands.
"Chinese planes and ships are exercising normal jurisdiction in the waters and airspace surrounding the Diaoyu Islands, We are opposed to the operations of Japan's planes and ships, which violate our rights around Diaoyu. We are on high alert against this escalation." spokesman Hong Lei said.
Japan has said it may fire warning shots to keep foreign aircraft from violating the airspace over a set of dispuated islands, in the latest verbal exchange between Tokyo and Beijing.
Japanese officials made the comments after Chinese fighter jets recently tailed its warplanes near the islands in what is believed to be the first scrambling of Chinese air force jets since the tensions began to rise last spring.
According to Chinese media, a pair of J-10 fighters was scrambled after Japanese F-15s began tailing a Chinese surveillance plane near the disputed islands in the East China Sea.
China has complained the surveillance flight did not violate Japanese airspace and the F-15s were harassing it.
Clinton called for a peaceful settlement on the disputed islands -- known as the Senkaku in Japanese and the Diaoyu in Chinese -- but made clear that they fell under the US security treaty with Japan.
"As I've said many times before, although the United States does not take a position on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands, we acknowledge they are under the administration of Japan, and we oppose any unilateral actions that would seek to undermine Japanese administration and we urge all parties to take steps to prevent incidents and manage disagreements through peaceful means." Clinton said.
In Beijing, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said China is on "high alert" and suggested Japan is escalating the tensions over the islands.
"Chinese planes and ships are exercising normal jurisdiction in the waters and airspace surrounding the Diaoyu Islands, We are opposed to the operations of Japan's planes and ships, which violate our rights around Diaoyu. We are on high alert against this escalation." spokesman Hong Lei said.
Japan has said it may fire warning shots to keep foreign aircraft from violating the airspace over a set of dispuated islands, in the latest verbal exchange between Tokyo and Beijing.
Japanese officials made the comments after Chinese fighter jets recently tailed its warplanes near the islands in what is believed to be the first scrambling of Chinese air force jets since the tensions began to rise last spring.
According to Chinese media, a pair of J-10 fighters was scrambled after Japanese F-15s began tailing a Chinese surveillance plane near the disputed islands in the East China Sea.
China has complained the surveillance flight did not violate Japanese airspace and the F-15s were harassing it.
