Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, July 1 -- China has appealed to Japan for the joint development of oil and natural gas resources in the disputed East China Sea, after reports that Tokyo might approve drilling by a Japanese company in the area.
"Neither side should take unilateral action" before they reached an agreement on their disputed boundary in the East China Sea, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao on June 30.
"If there is no agreement yet on the demarcation, we should go for joint development," Liu said.
Liu's statement followed remarks on June 30 by Hideji Sugiyama, Japan's vice-minister for economy, trade, and industry. Sugiyama said that the Japanese government is likely to give concessions to Teikoku Oil Co. in July to conduct experimental drilling in the East China Sea.
Sugiyama said the governors of Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures, which have state-designated jurisdiction over the sea area, are expected to present their views on the issue within a month. Discussions between METI and the governors have been under way since early June.
Procedures for Teikoku Oil to acquire the test-drilling rights are expected to reach completion at about the same time as the governors present their views.
On April 28, Teikoku Oil submitted applications to the central government for the test-drilling rights at three sites covering a combined 400 sq km in the East China Sea.
The sites are east of what Japan claims is a median line separating the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zones of Japan and China in the East China Sea. A Chinese consortium has been exploring for natural gas in an area close to the line.
China does not accepted the median line, saying its economic waters stretch to the end of a continental shelf. It has held talks with Japan to settle the dispute over demarcation, but the two countries have yet to reach an agreement (OGJ Online, Apr. 14, 2005).
