Japan proposes joint use of deposits in East China Sea fields

Japan proposed to China on Saturday that they jointly develop the gas fields in a disputed area of the East China Sea as two days of working-level talks on the issue drew to a close.

It was the first time Tokyo has formally called for joint development of undersea deposits that are the focus of a territorial squabble between the Asian giants. China promised to respond to the proposal in the next round of talks, to be held in Beijing later this month.

"We discussed the concept of joint development. Under these circumstances, (some form of joint development) is the only realistic solution," Cui Tiankai, head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Asian Affairs Department and the leader of China's delegation, told reporters after the meeting.

Meanwhile, Kenichiro Sasae, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, said both sides agreed on the spirit of joint development.

The problem lies in differences over where such cooperation should occur, because each nation has its own ideas on where to draw the demarcation line between their two exclusive economic zones.

Sasae said joint development should cover wide areas straddling both sides of what Japan stresses is the median line in the East China Sea.

The line marks an equal distance between China's eastern mainland coast and Japan. Tokyo claims this is fair, saying the line delineates the two countries' exclusive economic zones.

China, on the other hand, proposed in May that the two countries cooperate in gas fields on the eastern side of the median line as claimed by Japan. China maintains this is fair and generous, as it holds that its EEZ extends to the edge of the continental shelf near Okinawa and includes Taiwan.

Japan rejected that proposal, saying instead that if China does not cease exploring fields along the median line or provide information on undersea resources, it is prepared to drill on the eastern side of the line independently.

During the latest round of talks, China refused to disclose its findings on the undersea deposits, but it could after concrete progress on reaching a joint-development agreement, a Foreign Ministry official said.

The Chinese side also refused to suspend drilling in waters along the western side of the median line.

This was the third time the two sides have met on the disputed gas projects, which have further strained an already sour bilateral relationship.

Last week, Japan protested after finding signs that China was extracting natural gas from the Tianwaitian oil field in the East China Sea.

Beijing, for its part, protested Tokyo's decision to give drilling rights to Teikoku Oil Co. in waters on the eastern side of the median line, and adjacent to oil fields that China is tapping.

Several Japanese oil companies applied for drilling rights in the East China Sea in the late 1960s, but the old Ministry of International Trade and Industry did not process the applications out of fear of provoking China. That all changed when China began exploring the area's mineral deposits.

Under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, countries can claim economic zones extending 200 nautical miles from their shores. But under this definition, Japan and China's claimed economic zones overlap, and the U.N. is slated to rule on such claims by May 2009.

China's claims are also based on separate international legal precedents that say countries can claim natural resources along their continental shelves.

Also on Saturday, Japan protested China's deployment of naval ships including warships near the fields.

Information from Kyodo added