Claims by Japan in Diaoyu Islands dispute branded as 'self-deception'

Beijing on Tuesday hit back at claims by Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba that Tokyo was trying to calm tensions with Beijing over the Diaoyu Islands.

It branded Japan's "persistent defiance" in the territorial dispute as "self-deception".

Japan has denied that a territorial dispute exists over the islands, and Gemba said on Tuesday in Tokyo that his government is seeking to calm tensions with China in maintaining its position over the islands.