Latest gas field talks with China saw "no achievement": Nakagawa

Tokyo (Platts)--3Jun2005

Shoichi Nakagawa, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Friday said
he saw "no achievement" in the latest talks with China over the disputed gas
fields in the East China Sea. "There is no achievement. The only good thing is
that the next meeting will be held in Tokyo," Nakagawa said at a news briefing
after the cabinet meeting. 

Japanese and Chinese officials held their second round of discussions on the
disputed gas fields in East China Sea on May 30-31 in Beijing. Nakagawa had
earlier voiced frustration that the talks had been only taking place in
Beijing. The officials have now agreed to continue talks and meet in Tokyo "as
soon as possible," he said. China has been developing the gas fields in East
China Sea which, according to the latest survey by the Japanese government,
stretches over the UN-set median line to Japanese territorial waters. China
does not recognize the median line and claims the median line is further east
from the UN-set line.

China again rejected a request from Japan to stop drilling in the gas fields
at the May meeting. Japan and China have been experiencing their worst
diplomatic relation in decades with China protesting Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni shrine and the approval of rightist Japanese
history textbooks. Japan, in turn, has demanded compensation from the Chinese
government for damage caused by anti-Japanese demonstrations to the Japanese
embassy and businesses in China. Asked about a joint gas field development
plan presented by China at the meeting, Nakagawa said "there is no way that
Japan starts considering the joint development." According to Hideji Sugiyama,
Japan's vice minister of economy, trade and industry, China proposed the joint
development for the gas fields located in the east side of the UN-set median
line.

The complete story was originally published in Platts Global Alert
http://www.globalalert.platts.com

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