Japanese land on disputed isle, sparking China protests

Several Japanese nationalists landed yesterday on a rocky island in the East China Sea at the heart of a territorial row with Beijing, sparking protests in several Chinese cities and a diplomatic rebuke from Beijing.

Tokyo and Beijing have been feuding for decades over the island chain, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, near potentially huge maritime gas fields.

Tensions flared last week after seven of a group of 14 Chinese activists slipped past Japan’s coastguard to land on one of the uninhabited isles and raise a Chinese flag.