China objects to US offer over disputed islands

Evan Vucci / AP

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gestures during a town hall event at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool) 

via CAAI

By CHI-CHI ZHANG

The Associated Press

updated 11/2/2010

BEIJING — China rejected Tuesday a U.S. offer to broker three-way talks with Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea, prompting Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to reiterate the proposal.

Clinton's offer, first made last week, thrust the U.S. into a long-standing territorial disagreement that flared anew recently and has strained often uneasy relations between China and Japan, the world's second and third largest economies.

The dispute over the islands remains an issue for China and Japan alone to deal with, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement. While he did not mention Clinton by name, Ma particularly savaged her suggestion that the U.S. security treaty with Tokyo covers the islands — which China calls the Diaoyu and Japan the Senkaku.

"The U.S. side has repeatedly claimed that the U.S.-Japan security treaty applies to the Diaoyu islands. This is very wrong. The U.S. side should immediately correct this erroneous position," said Ma's statement, which was posted on the ministry's website.

Undeterred by the criticism, Clinton told reporters that Tokyo and Beijing need to discuss their differences. "The offer that I made to host a trilateral with both Japan and China that would facilitate dialogue stands," Clinton said at a news conference with Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman in Putrajaya.

Clinton repeated that Washington has no position on which country holds ultimate sovereignty over the islands but that U.S. security obligations to Japan have been consistent for many decades.

The U.S.-Japan defense alliance is nettlesome for Beijing, which has benefited from the stability the treaty has brought the region but also sees it as a tool for containing China.

Also troubling to Beijing was that Clinton's initial offer was made at a joint appearance with Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, who is known for hawkish views on China.

Clinton's offer was the second time in four months that Washington has injected itself in a Chinese territorial dispute and angered Beijing by doing so. In July, Clinton said Washington had an interest in seeing Beijing peacefully settle claims over the South China Sea with Southeast Asian neighbors.

Washington is concerned that territorial disputes in Asian waters could imperil strategic international shipping lanes and has signaled it would back regional allies, including Japan, if tensions were to escalate.

China's latest spat with Japan started after a Chinese fishing trawler collided in September with two Japanese patrol boats near the disputed islands.

The diplomatic row that followed has prompted street protests, canceled meetings and Chinese restrictions on key metal exports that drew international concern.

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Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed reporting from Putrajaya, Malaysia.