Peking warns Tokyo in Diaoyu islands dispute

Peking warned Tokyo of "serious damage" to relations if Japanese right-wingers again set foot on the disputed Diaoyu islands. It was also confirmed that a visit to Tokyo by a Chinese vice prime minister, Li Lanqing, had been postponed from next month.

The sovereignty row over the Diaoyu islands (or the Senkakus, as Tokyo would insist) has emerged as a rare point of agreement for mainland China, Taiwan, Macau, and democrats and pro-China camps in Hong Kong. The past few days have seen a wave of anti-Japanese public protests in the region. The uninhabited islands, in the East China Sea, are claimed by Peking, Tokyo and Taipei.