A Chinese analyst said Thursday the Chinese public should voice support for people in Okinawa seeking independence for the Ryukyu Islands, after an NGO was established Wednesday, dedicated to pursuing independence for Okinawa and the surrounding islands.

Huang Dahui, an expert in East Asia studies with the Renmin University of China, suggested that the Chinese government should not take sides on the issue but encouraged the public to support the independence movement.

"The government should wait and see how it goes without siding with anyone, or else others might think China is attempting to interfere with Japan's internal affairs," Huang told the Global Times. His remarks came amid intensifying tensions between China and Japan on the disputed Diaoyu Islands, and after a Chinese general, Luo Yuan, said in public that Okinawa does not belong to Japan.

Reports in Japanese media said the organization, initiated by politicians, professors and local residents in Okinawa, announced its establishment and told reporters Wednesday they hope to seek an independent, autonomous republic for the Ryukyus. The organization will also express their appeal for the independence of Okinawa to the UN, reports said. As yet, the Japanese government has made no official comments.

Liu Gang, a Chinese scholar in Okinawa, told the Global Times that the organization has some 100 members, mostly aged between 30 and 40, and mostly functions as a research institute. The organization chief, a university professor, specializes in island economies of the South Pacific area.

The Chinese public should voice their support, given the fact that Japan annexed the Ryukyu Islands, and it had been supporting separatists seeking the so-called independence of Taiwan and Xinjiang, Huang said.

Okinawa is home to 1.3 million people and important US military bases. The US occupied Okinawa and some other Ryukyu islands after World War II, returning them to Japan in May 1972. Before being annexed into Japan in the late 19th century, the Ryukyu kingdom, centered on Okinawa, paid tribute to China for centuries, often receiving favorable trading rights in return. Japan says the islands are its territory.

Agencies contributed to this story