Japan broke consensus with China on Diaoyu Islands

Source:Xinhua Published: 2012-9-21 16:24:14

The Japanese government's bid to "nationalize" the Diaoyu Islands had broken its consensus with China to shelve the territorial dispute, a US expert said Thursday.

"First of all, I think that Japan's actions have been key in explaining what China has done," said Kenneth Lieberthal, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who had been the senior director for Asia at the National Security Council in the Clinton administration.

Speaking at a symposium at the Washington-based think tank, he also admitted it was a "huge mistake" when US government officials made comments that suggested Washington did have a position on the dispute.

"I think that does us no good. And occasionally, some comments like that have come out," Lieberthal said. "I think that they are regrettable."

Posted in: Diplomacy

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