China is insisting Japan has no right to include China's Diaoyu Islands into its application for UNESCO's list of World Natural Heritage sites.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei re-stated on Monday that Diaoyu Islands and its affiliated islets are China’s inherent territory. He said Japan has no right to make such an application, and any Japanese plots to this end will not succeed. Japanese media reports said Tokyo plans to put the Amami and Ryukyu Islands on the UNESCO provisional list of candidates.

Earlier this month, the Ishigaki city government proposed including the Diaoyu Islands in the application. Officials in Ishigaki say they will conduct field research on the Diaoyu Islands.

UNESCO procedure calls for a country to make an inventory of its important natural heritage sites located within its boundaries to begin the nomination. This means sovereignty over the sites is the prerequisite.