BEIJING - A Japanese minister's latest comments on the Diaoyu Islands, which wrongly denied China's sovereignty over them, have totally distorted the history and reality, and are very detrimental to bilateral ties.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura alleged Monday that the islands were Japan's "sovereign territory historically."

Opposite to this rashy claim, ample historical evidence, including historical documents and maps, has shown that the islands have been China's inherent territory since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Unfortunately, the Diaoyu Islands were seized by Japan during the 1894-1895 Sino-Japanese war and had since been under its occupation until its defeat at the end of World War II.

Due to various historical and political reasons, the islands regretfully were not returned to China and wrongly assigned to the then US-controlled Ryukyu zone under an illegal treaty signed between Tokyo and Washington in 1951, which has never been recognized by the Chinese government.

But any twists and turns haven't changed the basic fact that the islands have indisputably been China's sovereign territory.

Thus, the landing of 10 Japanese rightists on the islands on Sunday, under the so-called excuse of "mourning war dead in World War II," severely infringed China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and was a flagrant provocation against China.

The landing was anything but Japan's "domestic matter" as claimed by Fujimura.

In a gesture of showing great anger and dissatisfaction toward the sovereignty violation, Chinese citizens and students staged demonstrations spontaneously in over 10 Chinese cities on Sunday. The protests were orderly organized and the police had kept duty on the spots.

It is totally reasonable and justifiable for any citizens to launch protests when their territorial sovereignty is trampled on. Therefore, there was not a bit of ground for the Japanese side to call the protests "unacceptable."

China has committed to stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large. It has played a very constructive role in boosting regional peace and security, partly through performing as a responsible and active member at international blocs such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

China has always attached great importance to its ties with neighboring Japan, and has made great efforts to realize sound and stable bilateral ties over the past 40 years since the two countries, "separated by a strip of water," forged diplomatic relations in 1972.

Over the past months, Japan has continuously fuelled the tensions between the two countries over the Diaoyu Islands, with the "islands-buying" farce in July, and the illegal detainment of 14 Chinese nationals landing on the islands and the unlawful landing of Japanese rightists in August.

China, as a matter of fact, has demonstrated enough patience and goodwill when being confronted with Japan's latest blatant string of provocations over the islands.

It is high time for certain Japanese politicians to scrap their wrong means of handling the Diaoyu Islands issue and ties with China. They should learn more history about the islands, mind the Chinese people's feelings, and do something conducive to bilateral ties.