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Japan city renames area covering Senkaku Islands, triggering China to warn of reprisal

  • The Ishigaki city assembly changed the name of the area containing the disputed islands from ‘Tonoshiro’ to ‘Tonoshiro Senkaku’
  • Beijing, which alongside Taiwan also claims the uninhabited islands, called the move a ‘serious provocation to China’s territorial sovereignty’

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The Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Photo: Kyodo
Kyodo

Japan’s Ishigaki city assembly on Monday renamed an administrative area covering a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea, a move Beijing – which also claims the uninhabited islands – called a “serious provocation to China’s territorial sovereignty” to which it reserves the right to respond.

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The assembly in Okinawa prefecture changed the name of the southern Japan area containing the Senkaku Islands from “Tonoshiro” to “Tonoshiro Senkaku”, saying the move was aimed at resolving administrative confusion with a locale in downtown Ishigaki which shares the name “Tonoshiro”.

It was able to make the change, which takes effect on October 1, as the area falls under Ishigaki’s administrative authority.

Inserting the name “Senkaku”, which is how the islands are known in Japan, was “a serious provocation to China’s territorial sovereignty, is illegal, invalid, and cannot change the fact that the Diaoyu Islands belong to China”, the Chinese foreign ministry said, referring to the name Beijing uses for the islands.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said during a briefing on Monday that Beijing has complained to Tokyo about the bill regarding the disputed islands, adding that China’s “resolve and determination to protect its territorial sovereignty is unwavering”.

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Zhao said Beijing lodged “solemn representations” to Tokyo through diplomatic channels.

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