Japan, China fail to make headway in talks over gas row: report

Dubai (Platts)--9Jul2006

China and Japan failed to reach agreement on the main points of a dispute
over gas exploration rights in the East China Sea but agreed after two days of
talks to set up a panel of technical experts to help resolve the row, Japanese
government officials were quoted Sunday as saying.
The two sides met Saturday and Sunday in Beijing and also agreed to set
up a mechanism to avoid "contingencies" in the East China Sea, Japanese news
agency Kyoto quoted the officials as saying.
"We exchanged views from various angles, and as a result, I think our
understanding over the issue has deepened," Kenihiro Sasae, head of the
Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, told
reporters shortly after the conclusion of the talks, said the agency as
monitored by the BBC.
"But a gap remains, and the two sides will bring back (the result of the
discussions to their governments) to think about it further," Sasae said.
The dispute stems from unsettled demarcation of the East China Sea where
the two countries' economic waters overlap. [passage omitted]
One of the major sticking points - Japan's demand that China halt ongoing
Chinese gas projects and present data on them - remained unresolved in the
latest round of talks, the Japanese officials said.
"We urged very strongly that the Chinese side halt their operations, as
Japan and China are in talks over the issue," Nobuyuki Kodaira, director
general of Japan's National Resources and Energy Agency, told reporters.
Kyodo quoted a Japanese government official as saying that China had
refused to accept that request as part of bilateral discussions.
The talks come after Chinese media reports - including one by an official
newspaper of China's maritime authorities - said gas production would soon
begin in Chunxiao, one of the gas fields in the area. Japan calls the field
Shirakaba.
Japanese officials also indicated the latest round failed to narrow
differences between the two countries' proposals for resolving the row.
Both countries say they should solve the row by developing the area
together, but they differ on where the joint work should take place.
Asked if any concessions were made on either side, Sasae only said, "We
talked further about the legal issues, economic significance and political
impact based on the plans we have already presented to each other."
To facilitate further bilateral dialogue, the two sides agreed to set up
a panel of technical experts to explore various forms of joint exploration in
the area, the Japanese officials said.
The two will also begin talking about ways to avoid "contingencies" in
the East China Sea, including a plan to secure communication between Japanese
and Chinese maritime authorities, according to the Japanese officials.
Analysts have said there is a possibility that accidents could spin out
of control in the waters due to the lack of communication between the two
countries.
Sasae also said the two agreed to hold another round of talks "at an
appropriate time," and will arrange a specific schedule through diplomatic
routes.
The latest gathering on the gas dispute was the sixth on the issue. China
was represented by Hu Zhengyue, head of the Foreign Ministry's Asian
Affairs Department.
During the last round of talks held in Tokyo on May 18, both sides failed
to reach an agreement on their joint development proposals but agreed that
they would resume discussion on the issue as soon as possible.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said before the talks that
Beijing believed it would be beneficial to maintaining stability in the East
China Sea and the overall China-Japan relationship if both sides could "set
aside disputes" and pursue "joint development."
Official talks between Tokyo and Beijing were broken off in October 2005
after Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited a Tokyo shrine
honoring 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including some seen as war criminals
by China.
Before the talks broke down, the two countries had been moving towards a
compromise solution for the development of offshore gas fields in the area.
In the May 18 meeting, Tokyo rejected China's proposal for joint
development of two gas fields near Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands, while
China refused Japan's proposal to jointly develop four gas fields near the
median line in the East China Sea that Japan claims divides the two exclusive
economic zone boundaries. China does not recognize the median line.
Japan has objected to Chinese companies exploring and developing a number
of gas fields in the East China Sea that it believes could extend into its
territory.


 

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