China is demanding the unconditional release of the captain and crew of a Chinese fishing boat seized by Japan after a collision with Japanese ships.
China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi summoned the Japanese ambassador in Beijing, Uichiro Niwa, and lodged a formal protest over the incident that happened in waters off the disputed Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea earlier this week.
Minor damages to the ships, but no injuries, were reported after the two Japanese patrol boats collided with the Chinese trawler.
But the incident sparked off a flurry of diplomatic activity and raised tensions between the two countries, both of which claim the 2.7 square miles of uninhabited islands.
Soon after this week's Chinese boat incident, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Song Tao summoned Niwa and urged Japan to stop what they said was the illegal interception of Chinese fishing boats. The venture was described as "absurd, illegal and invalid."
The Chinese government said in a written statement it remains determined "to safeguard the sovereignty of the Diaoyu islands."
The non-volcanic Diaoyu Islands -- known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan -- are claimed by both China and Japan, but are controlled by Japan The islands are 106 miles north of Japan's Ishigaki Island and 116 miles northeast of Keelung city on northern Taiwan. They lie 255 miles west of Okinawa Island, but Japan argues they are part of the Japanese Ryukyu Islands group. (Source: UPI.com, Sep 10, 2010).