Japan protests new Chinese structures in East China Sea

The Japanese Foreign Ministry said that China had begun building a new structure between China and Japan, in the disputed East China Sea. It also added that it had lodged a formal protest with China.

In a press release, the ministry stated that "it is 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 defined.

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 the development of natural resources in the East China Sea.

China's Foreign Ministry responded on Wednesday to Japan's protest by saying that the oil and gas activities it has undertaken in the East China Sea are located in waters undisputed under Chinese jurisdiction.

Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the ministry, said at a regular press conference that "China rejects Japan's baseless accusations". Beijing is committed to fully implementing th principled consensus in the East China Sea dispute.

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)