Two Chinese patrol ships have been sent to islands disputed with Japan, which has sealed a deal to purchase the territory, Chinese state media say.
The ships had reached waters near the islands – known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China – to “assert the country’s sovereignty”, Xinhua said.
Japan confirmed on Tuesday it had signed a contract to buy three of the islands from their private owner.
Tension has been rumbling between the two countries over the East China Sea.
Japan controls the uninhabited but resource-rich islands, which are also claimed by Taiwan. Some had been in the hands of a private Japanese owner but the government says it has now signed a purchase contract.
Mr Fujimura told reporters that the government had set aside 2.05bn yen ($26m, £16.4m) to pay for the three islands.
‘Serious consequences’
China has nonetheless called Japan’s move illegal and warned it would affect ties.
“The Japanese plan to purchase the islands is completely illegal and invalid… It cannot change the reality that Japan is seeking to steal the islands,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said during a regular press briefing on Tuesday.
“The well-being of the development of the Sino-Japan relationship needs mutual understanding. The move to purchase the Diaoyu islands betrays these principles.”
State-run media have also carried strongly worded statements on the issue.
“The Chinese government will not sit idly by watching its territorial sovereignty being infringed upon,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on Monday and carried by Xinhua news agency.
“Should the Japanese side insist on going its own way, it shall have to bear all serious consequences arising therefrom.”
BBC has the full article
