
TOKYO: Japan’s Foreign Ministry said Friday that it has confirmed moves by China to transport a foundation for a new structure on the western side of the Japan-China median line in the East China Sea.
Tokyo had already confirmed the existence of 17 Chinese structures, including an excavating facility, built in the area.
Takehiro Funakoshi, director-general of the ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, expressed his deep regret over China’s unilateral development in the sea, over the phone with a senior official at the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo.
The Japanese and Chinese governments agreed in 2008 to jointly develop a natural gas field in the East China Sea. Talks on details have stalled, however, and China has been moving to develop the area unilaterally.
JIJI Press