DHAKA: The US president has reiterated that islands at the centre of a Sino-Japanese dispute are covered by a US-Japan defence pact, in a public show of support for allies in Tokyo.

In comments made on Thursday in Japan, Barack Obama said that the islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, were historically administered by Tokyo and came under the terms of joint-defence alliance.

He said US commitment to the treaty was ‘absolute’, and that it covered all territory administered by Japan.

‘This is not a new position. This is a consistent one,’ he said, reports Al Jazeera.

‘Article five covers all territories under Japan`s administration including Senkaku islands.’

However, he said, ‘We stand together in calling for disputes in the region, including maritime issues, to be resolved peacefully through dialogue’.

He said the US commitment to defend Japan was a matter of historical fact rather than a rebuke to China, ‘The treaty preceded my birth, so obviously this isn`t the red line that I`m drawing’.

BDST: 1508 HRS, APR 24, 2014