China lashes out at Mattis remarks on East China Sea islands

Reasserts claim over tiny uninhabited islands, says US bringing instability to the region

China says the US is putting regional stability in East Asia at risk following remarks by Defence Secretary James Mattis that an island group China claims falls under the US-Japan mutual defence treaty.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang today called on the US to cease "making wrong remarks" over the issue.

Lu reasserted China's claim of sovereignty over the tiny uninhabited islands, known in Japanese as the Senkaku and Chinese as Diaoyu.

In a statement posted to the ministry's website, Lu said the US should avoid complicating the issue and "bringing instability to the regional situation."

The US Defence Department quoted Mattis as telling Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a meeting yesterday that their mutual defense treaty applied to all areas under Japanese administration, including the islands.