"We want China and Japan to sit down, to have dialogue and work through the issues" surrounding disputed islands and a recent sea collision, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.

"We would hope that both countries will take affirmative steps to de-escalate tensions around this issue and that will create the conditions for a meaningful dialogue," Crowley said.

Relations between Asia's two largest economies nosedived last month when Japan intercepted a Chinese trawler near disputed islands, known as the Senkaku in Japanese and the Diaoyu in Chinese.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who arrived Friday in Vietnam and will later make a stop in China, met Wednesday in Hawaii with Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara and reiterated US support.

Clinton said that the islands were covered by the 1960 security treaty which obliges the United States to defend Japan in the event of an attack, leading China on Friday to express "strong concern and strong dissatisfaction."

Asked about China's rebuke of Clinton, Crowley said that the United States does not take a stance on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands but considers them to be under the administration of Japan.

"We recognize that there is an open question of sovereignty. And we expect that to be resolved between Japan and China through dialogue," Crowley said.

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