Scholars divided over historical, geographical and legal claims to the disputed Diaoyus in East China Sea

Small it may be but an archipelago on the eastern side of the East China Sea is now a big problem for China and Japan.

Uninhabited and covering barely seven square kilometres, the Diaoyu Islands, or the Senkaku Islands as they are called in Japan, have become a matter of strategic interest and immense nationalistic pride for Asia's two biggest economies.

Analysts say the answer to the dispute is rooted firstly in the islands' history, then geography and then international law, but they themselves are divided. Chinese scholars, whether on the mainland, in Taiwan or elsewhere in the world, tend to support Beijing's claims. Similarly, Japanese scholars mainly support claims made by Tokyo.

China's historical claims were re-emphasised on Tuesday in a 5,200-word white paper released by the State Council Information Office, which insists that "the islands are China's inherent territory in all historical, geographical and legal terms. No matter what unilateral step Japan takes over the Diaoyu Islands, it will not change the fact that the Diaoyu Islands belong to China".

According to the white paper, the earliest historical record of the islands can be dated back to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), when they were mentioned in a book entitled Voyage with a Tail Wind, published in 1403, which refers to "Diaoyu islet" and to "Chiwei islet", another island in the Diaoyu archipelago.