China rules out top-level talks with Japan on disputed islets
Iran Press TV
Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:48PM GMT
China's Deputy Foreign Minister Li Baodong has ruled out a top-level meeting with Japan to discuss a territorial dispute in the East China Sea.
"A meeting between leaders is not simply for the sake of shaking hands and taking pictures, but to resolve problems," Li said, adding, "If Japan wants to arrange a meeting to resolve problems, they should stop with the empty talk and doing stuff for show."
The comments come when Li was asked about the possibility of a leaders' meeting at the G20 summit next week.
Beijing has long been engaged in a dispute with Tokyo over the sovereignty of the group of the uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, which are known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan.
The disputed islands are currently controlled by Japan and form part of the Okinawa Prefecture.
The islands are located near a crucial shipping lane and give the owner exclusive oil, mineral and fishing rights in the surrounding waters.
On September 11, 2012, Tokyo signed a deal to buy three of the islands from their private Japanese owner in line with plans to nationalize the archipelago.
In late April, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tokyo would “expel by force” any Chinese individual landing on the islands, following an incident during which eight Chinese vessels entered the disputed waters.
JR/PR
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