The Chinese government on Friday lodged a strong protest against Japan's latest revision of a batch of new senior middle school textbooks regarding the Diaoyu Islands.

 

Qiu Guohong, vice director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Department of Asian Affairs, summoned Minister Horinouchi Hidehisa of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing yesterday to protest the revision that claimed the Diaoyu Islands as Japanese territory.

 

"The Diaoyu and surrounding islands have been Chinese territory since ancient times. China holds indisputable legal evidence of ownership," Qiu said.

 

Japan completed its annual review of school textbooks on Wednesday after ordering publishers to state more clearly Tokyo's claim to certain territories including the Diaoyu Islands.

 

Qiu said the Japanese move constituted an obvious infringement upon China's territorial sovereignty.

 

"Any unilateral action by the Japanese side on the Diaoyu Islands is illegal and invalid," he said, calling for Japan to take China's position and concerns into account and promptly correct the erroneous decision and actions.

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 1, 2006)