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Posted: 08 July 2004 0238 hrs
Japan launches natural gas exploration near disputed islets
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TOKYO : Fearing China could steal its energy resources, Japan launched
a controversial survey for natural gas near a group of disputed
islands also claimed by China and Taiwan, an official said.
The three billion yen (27.5 million dollars) survey, which has come
under fire from Beijing, will last until October.
"We are worried that the Chinese project could exploit natural
resources in Japanese territory and we have informed our concern to
the Chinese government," said a foreign ministry official.
The Japanese exploration site is near the disputed islands, called
Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, which lie between Taiwan and
Japan.
Late Wednesday, China's official Xinhua news agency said Vice Foreign
Minister Wang Yi summoned Japanese ambassador in Beijing, Koreshige
Anami, and lodged solemn representations over the issue.
Wang was quoted as saying the area had not yet demarcated and there
was still controversy on the issue.
"China can not tolerate Japan's move imposed upon others and firmly
opposes the dangerous provocative act," Wang said.
China, for its part, plans to develop natural gas near the border of
Japan's territorial waters, or exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the
East China Sea.
Tokyo has voiced concern that China could draw resources in Japanese
territory via underwater pipelines.
"The purpose of our survey is to accurately measure the estimated
amount of natural gas and collect data," said an official at the
government-run Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp.
A previous survey in 1999 estimated the offshore gas field reserve at
200 billion cubic meters (seven trillion cubic feet), according to
Japanese government data.
Japan is seeking to diversify its sources of energy.
"Japan lacks resources and almost 90 percent of our oil comes from the
Middle East, therefore we are trying to diversify supply sources," the
Japan Oil official said.
In June China proposed Tokyo and Beijing jointly develop an offshore
gas field in a bid to defuse the row but Japan has yet to respond.
In May Japan lodged a protest with China over a Chinese ocean-research
vessel conducting survey work in Japan's EEZ without notifying Tokyo.
In February 2001 Japan and China agreed on a mutual, two-month prior
notification system for maritime scientific research in waters between
the two countries.
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