Japan Has Concerns Over Chinese Rig Being Built Near Economic Zone
Kyodo News 6/18/2004
URL: http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=14081

Cabinet ministers expressed concern Friday about a Chinese consortium's construction of a new natural gas rig in the East China Sea near Japan's exclusive economic zone and stressed the need to urge China to provide more information about the project.

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi told reporters she plans to take up the issue in a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing next week in China.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told reporters, "The Japanese government has yet to confirm 100 percent" of the details of the drilling project such as its location.

At issue is the Chinese consortium's construction of the new drilling facility near the intermediate line dividing the two countries' exclusive economic zones. China already has a natural gas drilling project near the new construction site.

Hosoda, the Japanese top government spokesman, reiterated Japan's concern about the project, saying China could "take out resources" in Japan's territory east of the intermediate line even though China's drilling facility in question is being built in its territory in the west.

Hosoda made the comments in reference to a report that the construction of the second rig was confirmed in waters 9 kilometers from the division line, after the Japanese government protested to China earlier this month over the start of the construction.

If a vein of resources is found in the Chinese zone which straddles the borderline, Japan has a right to claim its share, according to international law.

Kawaguchi said she will urge Li to explain the exact location of the natural gas drilling project at their meeting next week.

"I must tell Foreign Minister Li about this issue," Kawaguchi told a separate press conference.

Kawaguchi and Li, as well as South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki Moon, plan to hold a three-way meeting on the sidelines of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue forum, a two-day event opening in Qingdao, China on Monday.

Shoichi Nakagawa, minister of economy, trade and industry, echoed the view of the two ministers, saying obtaining clear information from China about the project through diplomatic channels "should take priority."

Hosoda also said the Japanese government will consider setting up a panel in which relevant ministers will appropriately deal with the issue in line with a proposal by some lawmakers of the Liberal Democratic Party.