China rejects Japan's 'control' of Diaoyu waters

BEIJING - A spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday reiterated that the country has never accepted Japan's so-called existence on, or control of, the sea area adjacent to the Diaoyu Islands.

"China has always stressed that Japan's so-called existence on, or control of, the sea area adjacent to the Diaoyu Islands is illegal and invalid, which China never accepts," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily press briefing on Thursday.

Hua made the remarks when asked to comment on Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba's latest article carried by a US newspaper that said China did not accept post-war international order.

"The Japanese foreign chief's comments are extremely wrong and irresponsible," Hua said, adding that Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands have been China's inherent territory since ancient times, which is supported by historical facts and jurisprudential evidence.

Hua said the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation were the legal basis for the Allied Powers and Japan to conclude World War II and construct post-war international order in Asia and the Pacific.

These two treaties also laid the legal basis for China and Japan to settle post-war territorial entitlements, Hua said.

"It is groundless for Japan to claim sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands in accordance with the so-called Treaty of San Francisco," Hua said.

As China is not a signatory to the Treaty of San Francisco, this treaty is neither legally binding to China nor a legal basis for China and Japan to settle post-war territorial entitlements, Hua said.

"Japan's continuous provocative acts on the Diaoyu Islands, in nature, reflect Japan's attempt to deny the effects of the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation and challenge post-war international order," Hua said.

The current tensions between China and Japan originate from the fact that Japan has not completely reflected on or criticized its past of militaristic aggression, Hua said.

She urged Japan to give up illusions, face up to reality, deeply reflect on the past, show sincerity and make substantial efforts to properly resolve the current problem.