Envoy rebuffs Diaoyu accusations

The Chinese ambassador to Japan on Tuesday rebuffed Tokyo's protests over the presence of Chinese ships around the Diaoyu Islands.

It is "natural" for them to operate in Chinese territory, ambassador Cheng Yonghua said after being summoned by Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday morning. Kishida lodged a protest over the increased number of Chinese vessels in waters around the Diaoyu Islands.

According to Japanese media, Japan has lodged at least six protests with China through various channels since Friday, on issues ranging from Chinese ships to an infrared camera on a Chinese oil and gas field exploration platform in the East China Sea.