Diaoyu Islands have been a part of China since the Ming Dynasty, U.S. Congressman David Wu remarked in a statement yesterday at the Georgetown University.

"Historically and geographically the Diaoyu Islands have been a part of China since the Ming Dynasty. Japanese sources have acknowledged Chinese ownership since the late 1700s," said Wu.

Japan only laid claim to the islands after its war with China in 1895, Wu added.

In 1945 Japan agreed to accept the Potsdam Proclamation. And according to the proclamation, Japan should return to China Taiwan and Diaoyu Islands it had illegally seized from China. Japan returned Taiwan to China but refused to return Diaoyu Islands to China.

And in 1951 Japan unilaterally signed the San Francisco Treaty with the U.S., which enabled the U.S. to exercise the so-called "administrative rights" over the Diaoyu Islands. But this illegal treaty has never been accepted by the Chinese government.

The U.S. committed an error by letting Japan to manage the islands instead of returning the islands to China. This is an error made by the U.S. that needs to be corrected, Wu said.

Wu also said that "It is in everyone's interest, including the United States" if the dispute over the Diaoyu Islands can be resolved promptly and peacefully.