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Monday June 16, 6:08 AMJapan, China strike deal on gas project areas in disputed E. China Sea(Kyodo) _ Japan and China have reached final agreement on how and where to conduct joint gas exploration in the disputed East China Sea, with Beijing agreeing to allow Japan to invest in, and claim proportional profits from, projects including a gas field already operated by China, sources close to Japan-China relations said Sunday.The areas for joint development will include the Chunxiao gas field, which is a few kilometers west of the Japan-claimed median line and currently operated by China, as well as waters around other fields which China calls Duanqiao and Longjing, the sources said. Japan has named the respective fields as Shirakaba, Kusunoki and Asunaro. The two governments are expected to officially announce the agreement as early as this week, the sources said. The compromise by China, which does not recognize the Japan-claimed median line and instead claims its exclusive economic zone stretches further east to the edge of the continental shelf near Japan's Okinawa Prefecture, to agree to share with Japan the rights to invest in and profit from the area apparently reflects Beijing's priority on economic development. In exchange for China agreeing to include Chunxiao in the targeted area, the two sides have agreed that Japanese EEZ areas east of the median line will also be included for joint development in the future, the sources said. The latest deal, which came exactly four years since Japan protested China's unilateral move in beginning gas exploration in the dispute areas in June 2004, does not appear to bring an end to the long-standing territorial row because the issue of demarcation remains. But the two governments' decision to put that aside and proceed with the joint development will likely build momentum for furthering the mutually beneficial strategic relationship as agreed on between the nations' leaders in May. The two sides are to define the exact zones for joint development through diplomatic channels and then place orders to Japanese and Chinese private companies to conduct the gas exploration, according to the sources. In usual cases of joint development of natural resources by multiple countries, it is customary for the nation with sovereignty of the area to be given advantage over other parties in the distribution of profits. But Japan and China agreed this time that profits will be distributed in proportion to the size of investment made as the two governments have yet to settle the dispute over the demarcation of their overlapping economic waters. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese President Hu Jintao both said after their summit talks in Tokyo on May 7 that significant progress was achieved and prospects for an agreement were in sight. The two countries had initially aimed for an agreement by fall last year but the talks had stalled, with China being reluctant to agree to Japan's proposal of a joint development area stretching across the median line. In December, China presented a compromise plan with an area based on the median line but excluding Chunxiao -- the first time for Beijing to acknowledge the median line itself. Beijing showed further flexibility just ahead of the May summit by putting on the table a compromise plan that would acknowledge Japan's participation rights at Chunxiao, the sources said. |
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