"Unilateral Development Must Cease Even West of the Median Line"
The Japanese government has confirmed that China is moving to install a new structure in the East China Sea and has lodged a protest with the Chinese side.
Chinese structure confirmed west of the median line between China and Japan in the East China Sea. Photo by Yonhap News
In a statement released on the 24th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "While the boundaries of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf in the East China Sea have yet to be finalized, China has been proceeding with unilateral development, and a move to install a new structure has been confirmed," adding, "This is extremely regrettable."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that it had lodged a strong protest with the Chinese Embassy in Japan and demanded an early resumption of negotiations for the implementation of the 2008 agreement, in which both countries pledged to cooperate on resource development in the East China Sea.
The boundaries of the EEZ and continental shelf between the two countries in the East China Sea remain undetermined. Japan claims the so-called "median line between China and Japan" as the boundary, while China argues that the continental shelf extends to the Okinawa Trough and that the baseline should therefore be set much further east.
Japan maintains that it has so far confirmed a total of 20 Chinese structures west of the median line it claims, and insists that even if these are located west of the median line, China's unilateral development activities must be halted.
Previously, in June 2008, China and Japan agreed to cooperate on an interim basis until the boundary is finalized and to designate a specific area in the East China Sea for joint resource development and exploration, with negotiations to that end.
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