31.   The two countries came to the brink of war in January over sovereignty of a handful of uninhabited Aegean islets.

32.   The two NATO members came to the brink of war in January over the sovereignty of a handful of uninhabited islets in the Aegean.

33.   The uninhabited islets, known as the Diaoyus to the Chinese and Senkakus to the Japanese, are claimed by Beijing, Tokyo and Taipei.

34.   Local inhabitants said they had seen Taiwanese troops firing artillery at uninhabited islets and practising weapons manoeuvres.

35.   Senior US officials worked until midnight Tuesday to defuse a crisis between Greece and Turkey, two members of NATO, over an uninhabited islet off the Turkish coast.

36.   Since January Greece and Turkey have been at loggerheads over sovereignty of a group of uninhabited rocky islets in the Aegean Sea.

37.   South Korea has nevertheless pressed ahead with the construction of a wharf on the uninhabited islets, known as Tokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese.

38.   Tensions between the two countries mounted over the weekend after both Greece and Turkey claimed sovereignty over the uninhabited islet off the Turkish coast.

39.   The latest dispute, and the worst for almost a decade, between the traditionally-hostile eastern Mediterranean neighbours centres on who owns the uninhabited islet.