WASHINGTON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken spoke with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu
Motegi on Wednesday, and the two expressed concern about
"increased Chinese assertiveness" around the Senkaku islands,
State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
In the East China Sea, China claims a group of uninhabited
Japanese-administered islets, called the Senkaku in Japan and
Diaoyu in China. The dispute has plagued bilateral relations for
years.