PLA pledges support

The military said on Tuesday it "reserves the right" to take action on the Diaoyu Islands after the Japanese government ignored warnings from Beijing and "purchased" three of the islands, which belong to China.

Two China Marine Surveillance patrol ships reached waters around the islands, in the East China Sea, after Beijing announced on Monday territorial coordinates for waters off the islands. Beijing also announced plans to implement normal surveillance and monitoring of the islands.

The Japanese government on Tuesday "purchased" the three islands for 2.05 billion yen ($26.18 million) from a "private owner".

The deal was signed shortly after the Japanese cabinet decided to use reserve funds for the "purchase".

Vice-Premier Li Keqiang told visiting Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill on Tuesday that the Japanese government's deal to "purchase" the Diaoyu Islands from the so-called owner severely undermines China's territorial sovereignty.

Shinsuke Sugiyama, director-general of the Asian and Oceania Affairs Bureau at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, arrived in Beijing on Tuesday afternoon for urgent talks to "avoid misunderstanding and lack of explanation on the issue''.

But Chinese experts said the move proves that Tokyo has shown no sincerity in finding a resolution.

Sugiyama's trip is an attempt to justify the "purchase" deal and "has not, in the least, shown Tokyo's sincerity" for a resolution, said Lu Yaodong, director of the department of Japanese diplomacy of the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"Sugiyama's trip is aimed at expressing Japan's national interests while Tokyo has shown little consideration for the shared interests of both sides," Lu said.

China-Japan ties have been strained since Shintaro Ishihara, the right-wing Tokyo governor, unveiled plans on behalf of the city government to "buy" the islands in April.

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