Japan's ruling party prepared new legislation yesterday to solidify Tokyo's claim to undersea gas fields at the center of a dispute with China and give the Coast Guard the right to protect Japanese drilling facilities there.
The proposed law, to be submitted to Parliament in January, would establish a 500m safety zone around Japanese facilities on the country's continental shelf or in its exclusive economic zone, said Yoshiharu Makino, policy secretary for the bill's sponsor, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker Keizo Takemi.
Feud
The concept bill aims to protect Japanese development of ocean-based natural resources and will likely fuel an ongoing feud between Tokyo and China over natural gas deposits claimed by both nations in the East China Sea.
China has already extracted gas from one field, triggering protests from Japan that the reserves might run dry.
Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which both Japan and China have signed, coastal countries can claim an economic zone extending 370km from their shores.
The disputed reserves lie within both countries' claims, and the UN has until May 2009 to issue a ruling on the matter.
Unauthorized entrants to Japan's safety zone would face up to a year in prison or fines of ¥500,000 (US$4,200). While the bill doesn't mention the East China Sea, it would allow Japan's Coast Guard to better protect Japanese interests there.
"Without this bill, the Coast Guard must wait until facilities are attacked," Makino said. "With this bill, they don't have to wait."
`Serious attitude'
LDP lawmaker Yasutoshi Nishimura was quoted by Kyodo News as saying the bill will "represent Japan's serious attitude" toward the gas dispute and promote governmental talks between Japan and China.
The sides have met on the issue three times in the past year, most recently in September, but have reached no breakthrough.
Japan wants China to stop drilling operations immediately until an agreement can be worked out for joint development.
Beijing says it is within its rights to develop the region's resources.
China bases its claim, in part, on a separate international treaty that lets coastal countries extend their borders to the edges of their undersea continental shelves.
In July, Beijing formally protested Tokyo's decision to give private oil company Teikoku Oil Co drilling rights in the disputed area, calling it a severe provocation.
Teikoku and several other Japanese oil companies had first applied for drilling rights in the late 1960s, following a UN report about possible rich undersea deposits. The Japanese companies have not yet begun drilling in the waters.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from
RSS