China ‘strongly dissatisfied’ with US remarks on disputed islands

BEIJING — China said it was “strongly dissatisfied” Sunday after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a veiled warning to Beijing not to challenge Tokyo’s control of disputed islands at the centre of a bitter territorial row.

China is “strongly dissatisfied with and resolutely opposes” the remarks, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement on the ministry’s website.

“We urge the US side to treat the issue of the Diaoyu islands with a responsible attitude,” Qin said, referring to the territory by its Chinese name. Japan calls the islands the Senkakus.

Qin’s response came after Clinton said Friday: “We oppose any unilateral actions that would seek to undermine Japanese administration” of the islands.

She was speaking at a press conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington.

Clinton did not mention Beijing directly, but said she wanted China and Japan to settle the issue peacefully.

“We do not want to see any action taken by anyone that could raise tensions or result in miscalculation that would undermine the peace, security and economic growth in this region,” she said.