BEIJING -- The personal safety of Japanese citizens in China is protected in accordance with the law, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Friday.

Hong made the remarks in response to reports saying that some Japanese people were attacked in Shanghai recently as tensions between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands have escalated since the Japanese government decided to "purchase" the islands.

The Chinese government advocates Chinese citizens expressing their demands rationally and in accordance with the law, Hong said, noting that China is a country ruled by law.

Chinese people resolutely oppose the Japanese government's acts violating China's territorial sovereignty and wanton provocation by right-wing forces, but do not oppose Japanese citizens, the spokesman said.

On Friday, two Chinese surveillance fleets, comprising six ships, arrived in waters around the Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islets.

Chinese surveillance ships' patrols and law enforcement activities in the waters are normal and beyond reproach, Hong said, adding that the Chinese side will not accept Japan's protest on the matter.

The current grim situation of China-Japan relations is entirely caused by the Japanese side, he said, urging the Japanese side to revoke its "purchase" and return to the track of dialogue and negotiation.