China protests Diaoyu survey

A Japanese survey of the Diaoyu Islands has put Sino-Japanese ties under further stress, as Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara again attempted to push through a 2 billion yen ($2.56 million) plan to purchase the islands.

Analysts have said they see the recent moves from both the Japanese government and the governor of Tokyo as a threat to Sino-Japanese relations, adding that any plans by the Japanese government to nationalize the islands would also lead to severe damage to bilateral relations.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has lodged a protest against the survey conducted by the Tokyo government in waters near the Diaoyu Islands, which is being carried out in preparation for a possible purchase.

"Any unilateral action by Japan regarding the Diaoyu Islands is illegal and invalid," spokesman Hong Lei said at a press briefing, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

A team of Japanese surveyors, dispatched by Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, late Sunday night released the results of their investigation, detailing the geographic composition of the Diaoyu Islands, Kyodo News reported on Monday.

Japanese television broadcasts showed that the 25-member team remained on their boats to survey the shoreline and waters around the rocky uninhabited isles.

Ishihara also demanded the Japanese government construct a harbor on the deserted islands but with no direct response from Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, he said he was angry and would continue planning his next tour of the islands for October, according to the Kyodo News Agency.

"The scale and size are very clear to see. The governor has asked what could be done to build a small harbor. We want to check the islands with that in mind," Seiichiro Sakamaki, the Tokyo official leading the team, told Japanese television networks, according to AFP.

The Noda administration has decided to invest 2 billion yen to purchase the islands instead of gaining control of them via the Tokyo government. According to reports in ribenxinwen.com, the Japanese government believes this method is less likely to irritate China.

LüYaodong, a researcher from the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that Japan has broken promises with its recent moves and is damaging strategic cooperation between the two countries, which was highly valued by the Noda administration.

"Japan is playing a two-faced game with China. What Ishihara and Noda are trying to do is share the same purpose, which is to nationalize the Diaoyu Islands. China should strongly protest," Huang Dahui, director of the Center for East Asia Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.

Huang added that pressure from the election as well as Japanese fears of China's economic development, which might prevent the country from making such moves in the future, are the reasons for the move. He said that China wouldn't alter its stance over the territory.

China's State Oceanic Administration said that the methods used to monitor areas including the Huangyan Island in the South China Sea and the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea have improved, with satellite images proving to be a step forward over near-shore fixed monitoring methods, according to Xinhua.

"The Oceanic Administration is protecting China's sovereignty in addition to furthering diplomatic efforts," Lüsaid.

"Japan is making moves and we must respond."