BEIJING - China on Wednesday lodged solemn representations to Japan on the later's illegal detention of Chinese nationals on the Diaoyu Islands.

Fu Ying, China's vice foreign minister, urgently summoned Japanese Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa and made a phone call to her Japanese counterpart Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi on the matter. Fu reiterated China's sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands and the affiliated islets, and demanded the Japanese side guarantee the safety of the Chinese citizens and free them immediately without any conditions. Japan has detained 14 Chinese nationals from Hong Kong, who landed on the island on Wednesday afternoon to assert China's sovereignty claim over the islands.