China yesterday summoned a Japanese diplomat to strongly protest Tokyo's approval of a Japanese company's request to drill in disputed waters, demanding it reverse the decision as the row escalated.
Xinhua news agency said the Chinese foreign ministry called in Chihiro Atsumi, a minister at the embassy, "to lodge solemn representations and express strong protest" against the move.
Cui Tiankai (
He also said it breached the rules of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, although there was no mention of any retaliatory actions.
"The Chinese side seriously requests the Japanese side ... to correct its decision and stop any action that impairs China's sovereign rights and interests," said Cui.
Japan Thursday granted permission to Tokyo-based Teikoku Oil to be the first company to test-drill in the disputed area since Japan decided in April to open the area to drilling, ending decades of hesitation.
China and Japan have seen their relations steadily worsen this year, and the spat threatens to plunge them into even deeper trouble.
Tokyo Friday tried to put a positive spin on the developments, saying it provided a good opportunity for the two sides to talk.
"If China considers this an area of dispute, I would like to have a sincere dialogue and exchange data," Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Shoichi Nakagawa told a news conference in Tokyo.
"I think it's a good opportunity to turn a sea of dispute into a sea of friendship," said Nakagawa, who is seen as a hawk on China.
It was Nakagawa's ministry that gave permission to Teikoku Oil to explore the disputed area.
China began drilling unilaterally in the area in 2003 and Japan is concerned that the Chunxiao and Duangqiao gasfields which China is developing stretch into what Tokyo considers the Japanese sector.
A series of high-level meetings on the dispute led to no agreement other than to continue dialogue.
Beijing rejects Tokyo's proposed maritime border but has suggested joint development of the area, which Nakagawa was lukewarm about.
"I have not ruled out the possibility of joint development but we haven't decided how to proceed. First we must create a foundation and then we can go to the next step," Nakagawa said.
Cui said that until the demarcation dispute was settled it was "untenable" for Japan, employing its unilateral position, to grant test drilling rights to Japanese enterprises.
"The Chinese side reiterates clearly that it has never recognized the so-called 'middle line' and it will never recognize the line," he said.
"If the Japanese side attempts to impose its unilateral action as a fact on the Chinese side, the Chinese side will stand firmly opposed to and will never accept it."
A Japanese survey in 1999 estimated the disputed fields had a massive 200 billion m3 of gas.
Japan and China are two of the world's biggest energy importers and have also clashed over securing priority access to an oil pipeline being built in Russia.
Earlier this year there were successive weekends of anti-Japanese protests in China.
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