China demands Japan stop activists' trip to disputed East China Sea island

08/18/12: Al Jazeera reports China has demanded that Japan immediately cease actions in violation of its territorial sovereignty amid an escalating dispute over rival claims to islands in the East China Sea.  Beijing’s foreign ministry made the comment in a statement reacting to plans by a group of Japanese to sail Saturday to the uninhabited islands after Tokyo deported pro-China activists who had sailed there from Hong Kong.  “China has made solemn representations to Japan, demanding that [Japan] immediately cease actions harming China’s territorial sovereignty,” the statement said in response to a media question regarding the planned trip to the contested islands by Japanese lawmakers and nationalist groups.  It follows another statement late Friday that called on Japan to pursue “dialogue and negotiation” to resolve the dispute over the islands, which are under Japanese control.