Japan lodges protest against China for 'unilateral development' in East China Sea

ISTANBUL

Japan lodged a protest Wednesday against China for a "unilateral development" in the East China Sea.

"It is extremely regrettable that China is advancing a unilateral development in the East China Sea, while the Exclusive Economic Zone and the continental shelf in the East China Sea have not yet been delimited," according to a statement from the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

It claimed that Tokyo confirmed that Beijing started to build a new structure "on the west side of the geographical equidistance line between Japan and China in the East China Sea."

The Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Masaaki Kanai, issued a "strong protest" against the Chinese Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission Shi Yong, it said.

Kanai "strongly" urged Beijing “for an early resumption of negotiations on the implementation of the 'June 2008 Agreement.'"

Japan and China accepted in the agreement to jointly develop natural resources in the region such as oil and gas fields.​​​​​​​