BEIJING -- China published a pamphlet on Thursday stating that Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islets in the East China Sea are China's inherent territory.

The pamphlet, published in Chinese, English and Japanese, will be issued both at home and abroad, according to the State Oceanic Administration, which oversees the publication.

The publication, compiled by the China Oceanic Information Center, is aimed at "reiterating to the public and the international community the history and jurisprudential facts that Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islets have been China's inherent territory since ancient times."

It uses historical documents and atlases to prove that China was the earliest country to discover, name, use and administer the Diaoyu Islands. This evidence forcefully refutes Japan's sovereignty claim over the islands, based on the principle of "first come, first served."

It also points out that it was illegal and ineffective for the United States to transfer the islands to Japan through backroom deals under the Treaty of San Francisco following World War II.