Japan protests new Chinese structures in East China Sea

The Chinese government has begun the construction of a new structure in the East China Sea on the western side of the geographic equidistance of Japan and China, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. It also said that it had lodged a formal protest with China.

In a press release, the ministry stated that it was "extremely regrettable" for China to continue with its unilateral development while the exclusive economic zones and continental shelf of the East China Sea are still not delimited.

The Japanese government also requested that China stop its unilateral development, and resume discussions on the implementation 2008 agreement in which both countries agreed to work together on natural resource development in East China Sea.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not respond to our inquiries about this issue.

Japan's ties with China have been plagued by a territorial dispute over a group of Japanese-administered islands in the East China Sea, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, as well as the legacy of Japan's past military aggression.

(source: Reuters)