Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang Tuesday reiterated China's concern over the incident of a Japanese coastguard vessel collision with a Taiwan fishing boat in the East China Sea.

"The Chinese government expresses great concern over the Japanese coastguard vessel's collision with the Taiwan fishing boat which caused the latter to sink, and we have stated our position to the Japanese side," said Qin at a regular press conference.

He stressed that the Diaoyu islands have been Chinese territory since ancient times and China holds indisputable legal evidence of ownership.

"We demand the Japanese government stop illegal activities around the Diaoyu Islands so as to prevent incidents of this kind from happening again," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2008)