The Japanese government suspects China has begun drilling gas in the East China Sea along a disputed sea border, and has asked Beijing to stop, officials said yesterday.
Japan and China have been feuding over claims to undersea gas deposits in the East China Sea and the delineation of their exclusive economic zones in the area.
Trade Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said Japanese officials detected what they thought were signs that the Chinese had started drilling in the area and complained through diplomatic channels on Tuesday.
"There was a strong possibility that [China] has started drilling gas, so we asked China to confirm and ... stop drilling," Nakagawa told reporters.
He said Japan has not received "satisfactory replies" from China.
REGISTRATION
Meanwhile, a company that was granted drilling rights by the Japanese government last month has completed the registration process to become a licensed drilling company, according to a branch of the trade ministry in southern Japan.
An official of the Kyushu Bureau, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Teikoku Oil Co has paid about ?10 million (US$89,000) in licensing tax as of Aug. 3.
If Teikoku decides to start drilling, however, it still needs to submit a business plan which has to be approved by the bureau, the official said, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Tokyo and Beijing have been clashing over the undersea gas deposits amid a broader diplomatic row that has soured bilateral relations in recent months.
The gas dispute stems from a disagreement over how much sea resources the two sides can claim in the East China Sea, which divides China's eastern coast and Japan's southern island chain of Okinawa.
Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, coastal countries can claim an economic zone extending 370km from their shores.
WAITING FOR THE UN
Both Japan and China signed the treaty, but the UN has until May 2009 to rule on the claims.
Beijing also bases its claim on a separate international treaty that lets coastal countries extend their borders to the edge of the undersea continental shelf.
China has already built a drilling platform west of the line that Japan regards as the two sides' sea boundary.
Tokyo has repeatedly demanded that Beijing stop exploration over worries that reserves on the Japanese side might be sucked dry.
Teikoku Oil already applied in 1969 and 1970 to drill in the area but Thursday's approval applies to a more specific region based on studies the company conducted in the 1980s and research carried out by the Japanese government, according to Teikoku Oil.
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