Japan lodges protest with China over resource development in East China Sea

ISTANBUL

Japan lodged a protest Tuesday with China because of suspected resource development activity in the East China Sea after claiming Beijing started to construct a new structure in the contested area, Kyodo News reported.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry said the structure is located near the Tokyo-proposed median line that separates the exclusive economic zones of the two countries, after confirming a similar move from China in May.

The ministry said it filed a protest with the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo, describing Beijing’s actions as "extremely regrettable" for continuing to push forward with “unilateral development" despite the maritime boundary issue remaining unresolved.

Tokyo is concerned that China’s “unilateral” moves could divert resources from Japan’s side of the boundary.

Japan considers the median line, situated between the two countries’ coastlines, as the official maritime border under its domestic law, while China claims its exclusive economic zone extends much farther.

Although Japan and China agreed in 2008 to jointly develop gas fields in the region, negotiations have been stalled for some time.

There was no immediate response to Japan’s claims from China.