China will postpone a ceremony to mark the 40 th anniversary of diplomatic ties with Japan , because of ongoing territorial disputes between the two countries, the Xinhua news agency said.

The agency quoted an unnamed official from the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) as saying that the Chinese side decided to delay the ceremony until an appropriate time, due to wrangles referring to the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, which are also claimed by Beijing under the name Diaoyu.

The islands have been under the control of Japan since 1895. It includes five small islands. However, both China mainland and Taiwan ( China ) make sovereignty claims for the islands.

Tensions have increased between China and Japan in recent months, after the Japanese government announced that it bought three of the islands from their private owners.-VNA