US appeals for restraint in China, Japan dispute

The US Defense Secretary Leon Pannetta is warning that China and other Asian countries could end up at war if governments keep up their "provocative behaviour".

Mr Pannetta is appealing for restraint as tensions mount over a dispute between Beijing and the Japanese government over islands in the East China Sea.

He said it raises the possibility that a misjudgment on either side could result in a conflict.

Meanwhile, thousands of people have continued their protest outside Japan's embassy in the Chinese capital this afternoon.