A group of former senior White House officials have  told China to be careful what they’re doing, because the Senkaku Islands are covered by America’s bilateral security treaty with Japan.

Former U.S. Assistant Defense Secretary Joseph Nye explained that during their recent visit to China, he and others –including Richard Armitage, the former Deputy Secretary of State—met with Vice Premier Li Keqiang and other Chinese officials to tell them that Article 5 of the treaty is applicable to the group of Japan-administered islets in the East China Sea.  Nye described the meeting during a symposium in Tokyo.

He says “there is no quick solution” to the long-standing territorial row, and charged Beijing is “trying to drive a wedge” between the two allies by asking Washington to take an ambiguous position on the issue.  Armitage emphasized that if China attacks Japan, the United States will come to Japan’s aid.  Nye, now a Harvard University professor, says the visit was made at the request of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to clarify America’s stance on the issue to China.

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