Reuters reports that “China’s military told the United States this week not to support Japan, nor let it do as it pleased, over a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea, the Chinese Defense Ministry said on Friday.”

“Ties between the world’s second- and third-biggest economies have been strained over the uninhabited islands, controlled by Japan but claimed by both countries. The isles are known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.”

“A year ago on Wednesday, the Japanese government bought three of the islands from a private owner, inflaming anger, and setting off big anti-Japan protests, in China.”

For better understanding of the China-Japan history, dating before WWII, Rana Mitter has written the new book “Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II 1937-1945.” A conversation with Mitter was posted on Topic A: Defense yesterday.