War With China? Chinese Officials Warn US To Avoid 'Instability' After Defense Secretary James Mattis' Promise To Protect Japan

Chinese officials warned the U.S. against "instability" in the region after Defense Secretary James Mattis said during a press conference Friday that Washington would protect the disputed Senkaku Islands controlled by Japan in the East China Sea. Recognized as the Diaoyu Islands by China and the Senkaku Islands by Japan, the territory holds important resources and a favorable location in the Asia-Pacific region.

Despite its official ownership by Japan, China has insisted that it reserves the rights to the area. “We urge the U.S. side to take a responsible attitude, stop making wrong remarks on the issue involving the Diaoyu Islands sovereignty, and avoid making the issue more complicated and bringing instability to the regional situation,” said Lu Kang, China's foreign ministry spokesman, according to media reports Sunday. "The Diaoyu Island and its adjacent islets have been an inherent part of Chinese territory since ancient times, which is a unchangeable historical fact."

Kang’s statements followed President Donald Trump’s defense secretary’s two-day visit in Tokyo. Mattis said during his visit that the U.S. would continue its obligation to Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, which requires the U.S. to defend territories under Japanese authority.

"I want to make certain that Article 5 of our mutual defense treaty is understood to be as real to us today as it was a year ago, five years ago - and as it will be a year, and 10 years, from now," Mattis said to Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

He added: “ I want there to be no misunderstanding during the transition in Washington that we stand firmly, 100 percent shoulder-to-shoulder with you and the Japanese people.”

The uninhabited group of islands located between China and Japan in the South China Sea has been disputed by both nations for the past few decades. Following the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan established between the two countries after World War II, the U.S. agreed to defend Japan if any of their territories were under attack in exchange for military bases in their country.

"The U.S.-Japan alliance is critical to ensuring that this region remains safe and secure – not just now, but for years to come," Mattis said.