China military tells U.S. not to encourage Japan over isles

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's military told the United States this week not to support Japan, nor let it do as it pleased, over a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea, the Chinese Defence Ministry said on Friday.

Ties between the world's second- and third-biggest economies have been strained over the uninhabited islands, controlled by Japan but claimed by both countries. The isles are known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.