China on Thursday slammed the Japanese Diet's foreign affairs committee as "extremely irresponsible" and "harboring ulterior motives".

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Japanese House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a resolution to condemn China's drilling activities in waters adjacent to the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily press briefing on Thursday the resolution issued by the Japanese parliament breached international laws and betrayed historical facts.

She said it is an indisputable fact that the Xisha Islands are an integral part of Chinese territory. China recovered the islands from Japanese aggressors at the end of World War II (WWII) in accordance with legally binding international documents.

The Xisha Islands and the Nansha Islands, both in the South China Sea, was returned to China in 1946 under the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation.

The Cairo Declaration signed by China, the United States and the United Kingdom in 1943 categorically provided that all territories which Japan had stolen from China should be restored to China. The Potsdam Declaration of 1945, bearing the signatures of China, the former Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom, contained the pledge that "the terms of the Cairo Declaration will be carried out."

After the return of these islands to China, the Chinese government in 1948 mapped out a nine-dash line, which is clearly marked in historical documents and world maps drawn by different countries.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)