'Shared duty' of all Chinese to guard territory

Taiwan's leader Ma Ying-jeou on Friday visited an islet close to the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, as Beijing said it is the "shared duty" of all the Chinese people across the Taiwan Straits to guard sovereignty.

Ma, amid escalating tension over the Diaoyu Islands, inspected the Pengchia Islet, which lies off northern Taiwan and is only about 140 kilometers west of the Diaoyu Islands, local media reported.

Japan has laid territorial claims over the islands, which belong to China. Japan has further strained its ties with China this year by a series of provocations concerning the issue.