BEIJING (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, Tokyo protested Beijing’s continued development of gas fields near the Japan-China median line. The Japanese Foreign Ministry posted aerial photos on its website that allegedly showed ongoing work at four of 16 Chinese offshore platforms.
"China's oil and gas development in the East China Sea lies in indisputable waters under China's jurisdiction," the spokesman told reporters. "Japan has no right to make carping comments on this."
The two countries have long disputed the boundaries of their exclusive economic zones in the East China Sea. They are also at odds over the territory that is referred to as the Senkaku Islands in Japan and the Diaoyu Islands in China.
In 2008, the two countries agreed to jointly develop hydrocarbon reserves in the East China Sea, but the talks halted in 2010 after a Chinese fishing boat rammed a Japanese coast guard vessel near the contested islands.
