To continue with its game of "purchasing" China's Diaoyu Islands, Japan seems increasingly dependent on the United States' support. This month has thrown up enough evidence to that effect, which will only make it more difficult to resolve the Diaoyu Islands dispute through talks.

To further Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara's plan to "purchase" the islands, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government ran a sizable advertisement in The Wall Street Journal on Friday. The ad lobbied for US support and claimed the islands to be "historically Japanese territory".

Such claims do not hold water. The Diaoyu Islands were discovered, explored and named by the Chinese at least during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In contrast, Japan can trace historical proof of its "ownership" of the islands to only 1895. In retrospect, Japan's proof is nothing but evidence of its invasion of China. It seized the Diaoyu Islands, along with Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in the 1894-95 war between the two countries.

Nothing can change China's sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands. Not the Japanese "evidence". Nor any intervention by a third party.

We do not believe US citizens can be easily fooled by what a Japanese ad says. But some remarks in the ad, including that the Diaoyu Islands are "of indispensable geostrategic importance to US force projection", could still strike a chord with some in Washington.

Given that the US strategic shift to the Asia-Pacific is widely seen as a move to counter China, some in Washington could use the Diaoyu Islands dispute as a stepping stone for the US to project its power in the region.

This explains why the US has been playing a double role in the issue. On one hand, it promises support to Japan overtly or covertly and increasing its military presence in the island country. On the other, it tries to appease China by saying on some official occasions that it would not take sides in the dispute.

Such strategic ambiguity could encourage some ill-advised Japanese to go further on the dangerous path. Regional peace and stability will suffer if Japan intensifies the dispute any further, which will not serve any nation's interests, including that of the US.

The US has said it is willing to build a new type of nation-to-nation relationship with China and seeks positive interaction with China in the Asia-Pacific region. It should match its words with deeds.

(China Daily 07/31/2012 page8)