A leading Spanish daily says the conflict between South Korea and Japan over the Dokdo islets stems from Japan’s unjustifiable expansionism.

El Mundo said in its online edition on Tuesday that Tokyo appears to be trying to spark a fresh conflict with Seoul over Dokdo, after triggering a territorial conflict with China months ago over a group of islands in the East China Sea. The islands are known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

The daily stressed there is clear historical evidence that Dokdo belongs to South Korea, noting that many Japanese government documents of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries state Dokdo is Korean territory.