Latest news with #KanaiMasaaki
NHK
24-06-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Japan protests China's new structure construction in E. China Sea over gas field
Japan has lodged a protest with China after detecting work installing a new structure near the median line between the two countries in the East China Sea. The structure appears to be related to gas field development in the area. The Japanese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the activity has been confirmed on the Chinese side of the line, known as the geographical equidistance line. The director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Kanai Masaaki, issued a protest to a senior diplomat from the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo. The Japanese side said it is extremely regrettable that China is moving forward with unilateral development in the waters. It called on China to resume talks on the implementation of the "June 2008 Agreement." Tokyo and Beijing agreed in 2008 on joint development of gas fields in the East China Sea. But negotiations have stalled. The Japanese ministry says the structure being set up by China is the 20th of its kind, following the one confirmed in May.
Miami Herald
15-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
China Builds New Structure in Disputed Waters Claimed by US Ally
Japan says it has lodged a protest over a new Chinese structure near the median line between the two countries in the energy-rich East China Sea. The dispute echoes a similar one with South Korea, which has recently stepped up its objections to Chinese activities in the Yellow Sea. Beijing's neighbors fear it plans to achieve de facto control over these areas. Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry via email with a request for comment. Tokyo views unilateral construction as a violation of the spirit of a still-unimplemented 2008 agreement to jointly develop gas fields until the two sides can agree on a formal demarcation of each's exclusive economic zone-within which a state is entitled to sole access to resources under maritime law. The issue comes as China increases patrols by its heavily armed coast guard near the Japan-administered, Beijing-claimed Senkaku Islands, drawing stern rebukes from the U.S. ally. Japan's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it had "immediately issued a strong protest" to the Chinese embassy in Tokyo over the latest structure. "It is extremely regrettable that China is advancing unilateral development in the East China Sea, while the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf have not yet been delimited," the ministry said in a statement. In the protest, Kanai Masaaki, director-general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, urged Beijing to resume talks on implementing the 2008 accord, the statement said. Tokyo says this is the 19th structure of its kind. The continued additions, which have included hydrocarbon platforms and oil rigs-both permanent and mobile-indicate China is ramping up fossil fuel production in these waters. While China sees the 2008 agreement as non-binding, it has so far limited construction to its side of the median line. Japan believes these operations are likely draining gas and oil basins that straddle the line and that the resources should be shared. The controversy mirrors a similar dispute in the Yellow Sea, where China has a separate agreement with South Korea. That accord covers a provisional measures zone-an area where the countries' EEZ claims overlap and where both sides agreed to limit activity to fishing and navigation. Seoul says a jack-up rig China installed in these waters in 2022-without notification-could qualify as a permanent structure and signal the start of Chinese eastward expansion. China insists the platform supports aquaculture operations. The issue featured in talks when officials from both sides met for talks in April. South Korean officials have since warned of "proportional" countermeasures if Beijing fails to be more transparent about the rig and its purpose. Collin Koh, senior fellow at Singapore's Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies, told Newsweek: "Erecting structures along the median line in contested maritime spaces help give an appearance of effective control and administration, thus facilitating one to push a claim." China has not yet publicly responded to Japan's latest complaint. But based on past behavior, it is likely to move forward with the new installation. Related Articles US Ally Confronts Armed Chinese Ships in Disputed WatersChina Factory Protests Show When US Tariffs Began to BiteTrump Trade Deals Offer Lifeline to Farmers and Ranchers Like Me | OpinionUS Reveals Nuclear Submarine in China's Backyard 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
NHK
13-05-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Japan protests China's work on new structure in East China Sea
Japan has lodged a strong protest with China after detecting work on a new structure near the median line between the countries in the East China Sea. Japan's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that it confirmed China had started construction on the Chinese side of the line. Tokyo and Beijing agreed in 2008 to jointly develop gas fields in the area. But with negotiations for the agreement at a standstill, China has been pressing ahead with construction activities. The director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Kanai Masaaki, told a Chinese embassy official in Japan that China's unilateral development was extremely regrettable. Kanai also demanded that Beijing swiftly return to the table for negotiations based on the 2008 agreement. The ministry says this will be the 19th structure built by China.
