Japan and China have agreed to jointly develop part of the gas deposits in the East China Sea, a major breakthrough in a long-standing dispute between the two countries, the Japanese government announced yesterday.
Tokyo and Beijing will jointly explore undersea gas deposits at two of the main potential sites in disputed areas of the East China Sea, their first concrete agreement on the ownership and exploration rights to the undersea resources, the Foreign Ministry said.
The agreement is part of efforts by the two countries to boost relations, which have warmed in the past two years. Control of the undersea natural gas fields is one of many conflicts between the two.
“Japan and China have reached a political agreement over cooperation in the East China Sea,” Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura told reporters. “It is a welcome development in Japan-China relations as a specific achievement in our mutual strategic relations.”
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PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
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