Japan moves on own drilling in disputed East China Sea gas fields
Tokyo
Amid heightened tensions with China, the Japanese government has finally set in motion the process of granting domestic private companies the right to conduct exploratory drilling in disputed East China Sea gas fields--a step it had been reluctant to take for the past decades. Japanese foreign minister Nobutaka Machimura will put forth Tokyo's exploration plans to Beijing during his two-day visit to China Apr 17-18, officials at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Wednesday. But Japan has not given up efforts for a diplomatic solution. Machimura will reiterate his government's request for China to stop development of the contested gas fields and to provide Tokyo with its exploration data, the METI officials said. Japan in July 2004 launched a geophysical survey of the disputed waters, and last month released a report to back its claims that Chinese development of the Chunxiao and Duanqiao fields could tap into reserves under Japanese jurisdiction. The fields lie just west of a UN-set median line that China does not recognize. Tokyo's latest maneuver could be a hardening of stance on an increasingly knotty issue that is coming to a head with China gearing up to begin gas production from the Chunxiao field in August this year or posturing amid an overall deterioration of ties between the neighbors. China in recent days has seen growing and violent protests sparked by a newly published right-wing nationalist text book in Japan that allegedly whitewashes the North Asian country's World War II-era crimes in Asia. Japan could also be resorting to strong-arm tactics after regular discussions on the gas spat over the past months saw Beijing consistently stonewalling Tokyo's requests for it to cease exploration in the disputed area and make available its exploration data. Japanese upstream players Japan Petroleum Exploration Co Ltd and Teikoku Oil had several years ago applied to the trade ministry for exploratory drilling rights in the East China Sea. METI had stalled over its decision until state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp began drilling in the area. It could take several months for the government to actually hand out the contracts for exploratory drilling, industry sources said. Also, JAPEX is now reluctant to proceed because of the tension, a company official said. "Even if the ministry grants us exploratory drilling rights, I don't think we will start drilling until the area is confirmed safe," he said. Meanwhile, Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan Tuesday strongly warned Japan against allowing its companies to start exploratory drilling in the area under contention, Japan's Kyodo News Service reported. During a meeting with Kyodo News president Toyohiko Yamanouchi in Beijing, the former Chinese foreign affairs minister said the move would "bring about the further complication and sharpening of the East China Sea situation, and would fundamentally change the nature of the issue." CNOOC chairman Fu Chengyu in end-March dismissed the suggestion that the Chunxiao field 5 km west of the "median line" extended into Japanese waters, and insisted the development would proceed as scheduled.
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