Japan said on Wednesday it has raised with China its serious concerns about the construction of a drilling rig near a disputed and potentially rich gas field in the East China Sea.
Japan
said on Wednesday it has raised with
China
its serious concerns about the construction of a drilling rig near a disputed and potentially rich gas field in the
East China Sea
.
A Chinese vessel has been seen building what appears to be a drilling platform
about 26 kilometres (16 miles) west of the median line between the two nations,
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko Suga told a news briefing.
Japan
considers the median line to be the appropriate border while
China
doesn't.
The two countries have agreed to jointly to develop the field, which lies in an
area where both countries have overlapping claims to exclusive economic zones.
Japan
's
worry is that
China
would
siphon gas from the deposit that stretches into what
Japan
considers its territory.
"Our position remains that we cannot accept
China
's
unilateral development in this region where
Japan
's and
China
's
claims overlap, while delimitation in
East China Sea
remains undefined," Mr. Suga said.
"We have conveyed to
China
our
serious concern about the activities of the crane vessel. We told them, through
diplomatic channels, we cannot accept it," he said.
China
has
not given a specific response, Mr. Suga said.
The two countries agreed in 2008 that Japanese energy companies would be
allowed to invest in the gas field development, after
China
began
working in the area's waters. However, progress on cooperation soon stalled and
Japan
reported unilateral operations by Chinese ships in the area.
Japan
has
long pushed for the use of the median line between the two nations as the
extent of their exclusive economic zones. But
China
says
the border should be drawn closer to
Japan
,
taking into account the continental shelf and other features of the ocean
between them.
Relations have soured considerably over the last year, particularly over
territorial and economic claims in the
East China Sea
. A
dispute over the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islands, which
China
calls
the Diaoyus, was the most serious.
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