US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell said on Jan. 10 that the United States will carry out "quiet diplomacy" to attempt to resolve the diplomatic dispute between China and Japan over the Diaoyutai (Diaoyu or Senkaku) islands.
The US government is indeed concerned about the tension between the two nations, especially the recent incidents (the interception of Chinese planes in the airspace over the disputed islands, which are also claimed by Taiwan). Campbell said the US is trying to encourage the parties involved in the dispute to calm down and has confidence that the situation will not escalate.
Campbell was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC, where he also made a speech. He referred to an encounter on Jan. 10 local time when Japanese F-15 fighters were scrambled to intercept PLA jets in the vicinity of Japan's Air Defense Identification Zone over the islands in the East China Sea. No further clashes were reported.
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