Japan lodges protests with Beijing over resource development in East China Sea
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A handout photo taken in May from Japan shows the construction of a platform for gas extraction in the East China Sea.
PHOTO: AFP
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TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japan said on Friday (June 17) it had lodged protests with Beijing over what it called China's unilateral development of resources in the East China Sea, saying the activity was continuing despite a 2008 agreement for bilateral cooperation in the area's waters.
This comes as the United States has said it supports the Philippines in calling on China "to end its provocative actions and respect international law in the South China Sea".
In the East China Sea, where no official border between China and Japan has been drawn, China has constructed more than a dozen gas exploration platforms on the west of the equidistance line between them.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry said it filed a protest with a senior official at the Chinese embassy in Tokyo after its navy found a base structure of a new platform being transported there.
"It is extremely regrettable that China is proceeding with its unilateral development activity, even though it is in the west side of the equidistance line between Japan and China," the ministry said in a statement.
China is one of Japan's western neighbours.
Ties between China and Japan, the world's second- and third-largest economies, have long been plagued with a territorial dispute over a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, as well as the legacy of Japan's wartime aggression.
The Philippines has also been locked in disputes with China.
It last week lodged new diplomatic protests against Chinese maritime activities within Manila's 200-mile (321km) exclusive economic zone.
It accused China of "illegal fishing", while Chinese coast guard vessels shadowed Philippine boats on a resupply mission, adding to more than 300 complaints filed against Beijing's activities in the South China Sea.
The US shares the Philippines' concerns, the State Department said.
"These actions are part of a broader trend of PRC (People's Republic of China) provocations against South China Sea claimants and other states lawfully operating in the region,"State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
