钓鱼岛,是非之地 Diaoyu Island , Land of Controversy China suspended high-level government exchanges with Japan , significantly escalating the two countries ' worst dispute in five years ,
after Japanese authorities extended the detention of the captain of a Chinese fishing boat detained near disputed islands in the East China Sea . Beijing also threatened ' strong countermeasures ' following Japan ' s decision ,
which could provoke fresh nationalist protests across China this week and potentially damage commercial relations between the world ' s second - and third-largest economies . China and Japan have frequently clashed over the unpopulated islands , known as the Diaoyu in China , and the Senkaku in Japan ,
whose waters are thought to contain substantial natural-gas reserves , but this year ' s row has graver implications for both — and the U . S . — as China is rapidly acquiring the naval power to enforce its claims .
It is being closely watched by many other Asian countries-including India , Vietnam and the Philippines-which have territorial disputes with China , and which have concerns about China ' s expanding naval power .
The decision was all the more provocative in China ' s eyes as it followed small demonstrations outside Japanese diplomatic missions in several Chinese cities on Saturday the anniversary of Japan ' s invasion of China in 1931.
China responded on Sunday by suspending ministerial and provincial-level bilateral exchanges , halting talks on increasing flights between the two countries and postponing a meeting about coal , according to China ' s state — run Xinhua news agency .
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