A bill to rename an administrative area that includes a chain of disputed islands in the East China Sea has been passed by a city council in Japan, a move that has sparked strong protest from Beijing and renewed tensions in the region.

Ishigaki City Council in Japan’s Okinawa prefecture passed the bill on Monday to rename the inhabited islands, which are claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan. The islands are known as Senkaku Islands in Japan and Diaoyu Islands in China and Diaoyutai Islands in Taiwan.

The legislation will change the name of the islands from “Tonoshiro” to “Tonoshiro Senkaku” for administrative purposes, and is due to come into effect in October. The city said the name change was aimed at easing confusion between a downtown area in Ishigaki, which is also known as “Tonoshiro”.

China reacted strongly to the decision yesterday, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian describing the move as “illegal” and a “serious provocation” on its sovereignty.

“The Diaoyu Islands and its adjacent islets have always been an inherent part of Chinese territory, and China has an unshakable will to protect its own sovereignty,” Zhao said.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said it had expressed its regret and stern protest to Japan over the bill.

“The sovereignty of Diaoyutai Islands belongs to our country and any move attempting to alter this fact is invalid,” the ministry said in a statement.

A legislator representing Taiwan’s northern prefecture of Yilan said he was organizing a ship rally to the disputed islands early in July, in a signal of intent to display Taiwan’s sovereignty.

The Diaoyu or Senkaku islands have been a subject of dispute for the neighbouring countries for decades.

Tensions between China and Japan grew to new heights in 2012 when Tokyo nationalized the then privately owned islands. That move sparked massive and rarely seen street protests across China.

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