TOKYO: An island chain at the centre of a festering dispute between Japan and China is covered by an American military guarantee, Donald Trump's new defence secretary said Saturday.
Speaking in Tokyo at the tail end of a visit to East Asia, James Mattis said the Senkaku islands are subject to a long-standing defence treaty between Washington and Tokyo.
"I made clear that our long-standing policy on the Senkaku Islands stands -- the US will continue to recognise Japanese administration of the islands," Mattis said at a press conference after meeting his Japanese opposite number.
"And as such Article 5 of the US-Japan Security Treaty applies," he said.
Article 5 commits the United States to defend Japan or territories it administers against any attack.
The long-standing US position is that this includes the Senkakus, which China claims as the Diaoyus.
Mattis' comments mark a continuation of policy that was repeatedly stated under former President Barack Obama.
They will be welcomed in Japan, which has been discomfited by Trump's islolationist rhetoric, including election campaign statements indicating he would be prepared to pull back from Washington's close military ties with Tokyo.
Mattis was speaking after a meeting Japan's hawkish Defence Minister Tomomi Inada on Saturday.
The Senkakus, which sit in rich fishing grounds, are a running sore in Tokyo's relations with Beijing, which claims they have been part of Chinese territory for centuries.
The two countries have repeatedly clashed diplomatically over their ownership, and both sides regularly send ships to nearby waters to assert their claims.
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