China cold-shoulders Japan over islands

China yesterday broke off high-level government contacts with Japan over the extended detention of the captain of a fishing boat who was arrested near disputed islands.

The move came a day after anti-Japanese protests broke out across China on the anniversary of the start of a brutal Japanese invasion of China in 1931.

The spat was sparked when the Chinese vessel collided with two Japanese coast guard ships on 7 September near islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries.

The 14 Chinese crew were released last week, but the detention of captain Zhan Qixiong for further questioning has inflamed anti-Japanese sentiment in China.

The move raises questions about co-operation at international forums such as this week's summit in New York on UN goals to fight poverty, which Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan and China's Wen Jiabao are attending.