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Japan: Names Given to Disputed Islands Japan: Names Given to Disputed Islands
(about 1 hour later)
Japan on Friday gave names to five uninhabited islets in an island group at the center of a territorial dispute with China as part of efforts to reinforce its claim, drawing quick condemnation from Beijing. The five islands, named after compass directions, are part of the group in the East China Sea known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese. They were among 158 islands that were named Friday on a list published on a website of Japan’s maritime policy department. The other islands are in undisputed Japanese waters. The government said that naming the islands was meant to raise public awareness that they belong to Japan. China immediately rejected the Japanese move, calling it “illegal and invalid.” Assigning names to disputed islands does not change their legal status. Japan also said Friday that it would provide Vietnam with six vessels as part of an effort to strengthen Vietnam’s maritime security patrols. Vietnam is locked in its own territorial standoff with China in the South China Sea. Japan on Friday gave names to five uninhabited islets in an island group at the center of a territorial dispute with China as part of efforts to reinforce its claim, drawing quick condemnation from Beijing. The five islands, named after compass directions, are part of the group in the East China Sea known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese. They were among 158 islands that were named Friday on a list published on a website of Japan’s maritime policy department. China immediately rejected the Japanese move, calling it “illegal and invalid.”