Hollywood writer and director Chris D. Nebe's 40-minute documentary which traces the history of the Diaoyu Islands premiered last month.

"Diaoyu Islands, The Truth" focuses on the historical and political context of the territorial dispute, providing evidence that the islands have been Chinese territory since ancient times and that Imperial Japan annexed them in 1895 after the First Sino-Japanese War.

China has never recognized the right of administration of the United States or Japan over the islands, and Tokyo refuses to admit its war crimes against the Chinese and other nations during World War II.

We have selected four clips from the documentary:

The US role

In 1971, the United States appointed Japan as the administrator of the Diaoyu Islands. But China has never recognized the right of administration of the US or Japan. Officially the United States does not take a position on the ultimate sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands, but it does recognize the islands fall under the security treaty obligations the US has with Japan. There are still serious doubts about the possibility for the US to play a constructive role in this ongoing dispute.