Tokyo talks planned on disputed waters
By Hu Xiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-09-28 06:14

China and Japan will hold a second round of talks in Tokyo on Friday to discuss the disputed waters in the East China Sea, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

Cui Tiankai, director of the Foreign Ministry's Asian Affairs Department, will lead a delegation to Tokyo to discuss the disputed waters in the East China Sea.

China Daily has learned that Cui Tiankai, director of the Foreign Ministry's Asian Affairs Department, will lead a delegation at the meeting, which is likely to discuss jurisdiction over disputed waters and details of the area's joint development.

"China hopes the two sides will properly resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation," ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a regular media briefing in Beijing.

China appealed for dialogue last week as the Japanese Government discussed what measures to take after Chinese companies began oil and gas field exploration in the East China Sea. Qin insisted the operations were taking place in undisputed waters inside Chinese territory.

Previous high-level meetings on the issue have led to little in the way of progress.

According to international law, both countries have a right to claim 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) from their coastline. However, the width of the East China Sea is less than 400 nautical miles (740 kilometres), so the two sides' claims overlap. Japan claims a "demarcation line" equidistant from the shores of the two countries is the border. China says the border lies further east where the continental shelf ends.

In July, the Japanese Government granted the Teikoku Oil Co rights to test-drill in a gasfield in the disputed area.

President Zhou Shouwei of CNOOC, China's third-largest oil company, said on August 30 that China would like to develop the disputed natural gas reserves jointly with Japanese companies.

CNOOC is developing the Chunxiao field, located in undisputed waters 5 kilometres west of Japan's claimed central "demarcation line."

Sino-Indian border talks

The two-day sixth round of talks on border issues between China and India ended yesterday with no details issued by either side.

"With the development and improvement of China-India relations, the atmosphere for resolving the border issue has improved," spokesman Qin said, adding that the two sides are sincere about seeking a solution.

The two sides have agreed to hold the next round of talks in New Delhi.

(China Daily 09/28/2005 page2)