OFFICIALS DECRY TERRITORIAL MOVE BY CHINA

TAIPEI Tokyo has fired a diplomatic salvo at Beijing after China named 50 underwater geographic features close to disputed islands in the East China Sea, a move Japan described as an “alarming” bid to advance Chinese territorial claims. Beijing’s announcement is one of a series of provocative moves around flashpoints in the Asia-pacific region that have raised fears of military escalation.

Taro Kono, the Japanese defence minister, said Friday China was “trying to change the status quo unilaterally in the East China Sea, the South China Sea, at the Indian border and in Hong Kong.”

“Our fighter jets scramble against Chinese airplanes almost every day . ... Their armed ships are trying to violate our territorial waters.”

The two barren rocks and five islands at the heart of the dispute between Tokyo and Beijing are known as the Senkakus in Japan.