Preparations for a trilateral ­summit between China, Japan and South Korea face disarrayas tensions rise between the northeast Asian neighbours.

Beijing reportedly cancelled a planned trip to Tokyo by assistant foreign minister Kong Xuanyou later this month as the Japanese side repeatedly protested against the activities of Chinese ships near disputed islands in the East China Sea, Japanese news outlet Asahi reported yesterday.

Tensions between the two have risen sharply since last week as more than a dozen official ­Chinese ships accompanied ­hundreds of fishing boats in waters surrounding the disputed Japanese-controlled islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan and Diaoyus in China.

… Li Mingjiang, an associate professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said the security issues in Northeast Asia had prevented progress at the trilateral summit and working-level cooperation.