Still Apart Over Gas Row, China and Japan Agree to Compile Plan by Fall

Japan and China remained apart Tuesday over main points of contention in the dispute over gas exploration rights in the East China Sea, but they agreed to continue to expedite efforts to compile a plan to jointly develop the disputed gas fields by the fall, a Japanese negotiator said.

“We had intense discussions on both sides’ strong common concern…and our understanding over the issue has deepened but we have not reached an agreement
on the basic points,” Kenichiro Sasae, who represented the Japanese delegation, told reporters after their
one-day meeting.
The key issue in the latest and ninth round of gas talks was on the joint development of gas fields in the sea. Both sides have agreed on resolving their row over energy resources by jointly developing gas fields but still differ on the location of the projects.

Sasae, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, said Japan and China share a view on speeding up efforts with an eye to compiling a joint development plan by the fall but have yet to reconcile their differences.

Rigzone