China has used diplomatic channels to express its strong dissatisfaction at Japan's attempt to sensationalize Chinese research activities near Diaoyu Islands.

The Foreign Ministry lodged formal representations with the Japanese Embassy in Beijing yesterday, reiterating the position that Chinese sovereign over Diaoyu Islands is indisputable and can be traced back to ancient times.

"China will not accept any representations from the Japanese side claiming that Diaoyu Islands are Japan's territory," ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at yesterday's regular news briefing.

Reports quoted Japan as saying a Chinese ship was spotted early on Sunday carrying out research in what Tokyo considers to be its territorial waters in the East China Sea and lodged a protest with the Chinese Embassy.

"Normal maritime research carried out by a Chinese vessel means China is justly exercising its legitimate sovereign rights," Jiang said, noting this did not fall under the aegis of a six-year-old agreement under which each side notifies the other in advance of any activities in the region.

Jiang also denied a report by a Hong Kong newspaper that the Chunxiao gasfield in the East China Sea had entered production, supplying the coastal cities of Ningbo and Shaoxing.

"The reports do not comply with the facts," said Jiang, "and I am willing to emphasize once again that China's oil and gas exploration in the East China Sea is conducted in the undisputed continental shelves of China and it is a legitimate development activity."

She admitted that China and Japan have demarcation disputes for the East China Sea, but reiterated Beijing's determination to solve these through negotiations.

The two East Asian powerhouses have held six rounds of talks to this end and have agreed to maintain the consultation process in the future.

Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing will travel to Japan next Thursday with his two-day trip widely believed to be paving the way for a visit by Premier Wen Jiabao in April.

During Li's trip to Japan, he will meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso, with the rest of timetable still under discussion, Jiang said. Li's last visit to Japan was in August 2003.

Before flying to Tokyo, Li will travel to India on Sunday for four-day tour to the country. During his stay, he will meet Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, and pay a visit to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Li will further attend the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of India-China-Russia to be held in New Delhi next Wednesday.

"The foreign ministers of the three countries will discuss economic cooperation and such talks will help the three sides to expand their common understandings and push forward the trilateral beneficial cooperation," Jiang said.

In the last two years, the three foreign ministers have so far met upon three occasions on the sidelines of other international events. This will be their first structured ministerial meeting.

Six-party nuclear talks

Jiang announced the renewed six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue would focus on initial steps for implementing the joint statement reached in September 2005, under which North Korea would abandon its nuclear program in exchange for economic aid and security guarantees.

"The new phase of the six-party talks will officially start on Thursday afternoon," she announced.

"Apart from plenary sessions, negotiators will hold group meetings and one-on-one talks," Jiang said, adding that as host, China calls upon all parties to work together to produce positive results.

The last phase of the talks ended in December last year after five days of negotiations that unfortunately saw no breakthrough.

Launched in 2003, the talks involve China, the US, Japan, Russia, North and South Korea.

In another development, Jiang said "China and North Korea have a plethora of effective border control practices," with border cases always being properly resolved. She was responding to the reported flight into China of 20 North Korean border guards.

China and North Korea are committed to developing good relations, opposing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and creating a denuclearized Korean Peninsula, Jiang said.

China and North Korea enjoy normal trade relations, she said, with bilateral trade reaching US$1.53 billion from January-November period of 2006, up 5.5 percent year-on-year.

No Sino-US space cooperation

China and the US currently have no specific cooperation project in terms of space research, Jiang said.

She revealed that the heads of the China and US space agencies had agreed to annual meetings, aiming to discuss bilateral space cooperation, during a visit last September by Michael Griffin, administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).