China to UN: Japan Stole Islands

China's foreign minister says Japan's recent purchase of disputed islands in the East China Sea is "illegal and invalid" and that the move does not affect Beijing's historical claim to the rocky archipelago.

In a speech late Thursday to the United Nations General Assembly, Yang Jiechi said the Japanese purchase "grossly violated" Chinese sovereignty. Yang said it cannot change the "historical fact that Japan stole" the islands from China.

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