Japan today warned China that ties were deteriorating over disputed East China Sea islets. Tensions between both the countries have risen since Japan saw an increasing number of Chinese coastguard and other government ships sailing near the disputed islets over the past few days.
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida called in Chinese Ambassador Cheng Yonghua for the second time since Friday and told him that China was trying to change the status quo unilaterally. Cheng said after the meeting that the islands were an integral part of China’s territory and that the dispute should be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.