Japan-china At Odds Over Gas/oil Exploration

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Japan-china At Odds Over Gas/oil Exploration
Tweet Topic Started: Sep 21 2005, 07:45 AM (260 Views)
datu	Sep 21 2005, 07:45 AM Post #1
Member Posts: 338 Group: Regulars Member #415 Joined: March 28, 2005	http://news.ft.com/cms/s/e3aa15aa-29fc-11d...000e2511c8.html apan accuses China in oilfield dispute By David Pilling in Tokyo and Enid Tsui in Hong Kong Published: September 20 2005 21:01 \| Last updated: September 20 2005 21:01 Japan on Tuesday accused China of beginning to produce oil or gas from a field in disputed waters in the East China Sea, saying it was weighing up what counter-measures to take. Shoichi Nakagawa, the trade minister who has turned Chinese gas production into a territorial issue, said on Tuesday that a flare had been spotted at a drilling facility in waters close to the median line between both countries. Japan says the median line marks the sea boundary between Asia's two most powerful economies and that, by drilling so close to it, China risks extracting hydrocarbons from shared deposits. Beijing, citing its shallow continental shelf, says its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) stretches further out than the median line. The dispute has come to the fore as China's increasing need for energy has led it to look more intensively for oil and gas deposits. Japan says that it has repeatedly asked China to put the dispute to international arbitration, but says Beijing has refused. Tokyo is confident that international arbitration would rule in its favour, since recent decisions have tended to side with the median-line interpretation over that of the continental shelf. Mr Nakagawa said the flare was a tell-tale sign that China had started production of either oil or natural gas in the Tianwaitian field, within a few kilometres of the median line. “The Japanese government is discussing how to act,” he added. “If China continues to fail to respond [to our protests], we will have to consider counter-measures.” Chinese oil producers CNOOC and Sinopec claim to own Tianwaitian jointly, with the former especially active in exploring the area. The two companies signed an agreement with Shell and Unocal in 2003 to invest in the East China fields together, but the western groups pulled out in 2004, citing failure to agree on the development plan. According to CNOOC's estimates, Tianwaitian has 100,000 barrels of oil reserves and 31.1bn cu ft of gas. Neighbouring Chunxiao, with 3.8m barrels of oil and 166.9bn cu ft of gas, is also operated by CNOOC. It is expected to begin pumping gas to China's prosperous greater Shanghai area as early as next month. Qin Guan, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said in Beijing on Tuesday that China's exploration was “being conducted in uncontested waters”. “We hope that the issue between China and Japan in the East China Sea can be handled by dialogue and negotiation,” he added. No conclusive technical data exist for the Tianwaitian field, but Tokyo suspects that it may also stretch across the median line. “Even though we have not confirmed that the underground structure of the field extends into waters claimed by Japan, Tokyo sees the resource development as a problem,” Mr Nakagawa said. --- Additional story http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/a...pan_china_gas_1
	"*Fck it, Dude. Let's go bowling**." ---The Big Lebowski


datu	Oct 2 2005, 04:20 AM Post #2
Member Posts: 338 Group: Regulars Member #415 Joined: March 28, 2005	http://defensenews.com/story.php?F=1143235&C=asiapac China Sends Warships to East China Sea By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BEIJING China said on Sept. 29 it has sent warships to the disputed East China Sea, a day ahead of talks with Japan over competing territorial claims in the gas-rich waters. ”I can now confirm that in the East China Sea, a Chinese reserve vessel squadron has been established,” foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular briefing. ”The establishment of this vessel squadron is aimed at handling emergency situations like rapid mobilization and assistance at sea during peacetime, while also raising the ability of the navy.” He refused to give further details. It was unclear whether the dispatch of the squadron is targeted at Japan. The state-run Xinhua news agency said earlier this week that the squadron would be ready for combat if necessary. The naval unit will meet the demands of “being able to handle emergencies during peacetime, and being able to fight during wars,” Xinhua said. The unit will also be equipped to “eliminate obstacles at sea,” it said. No details were given on the size of the squadron or the area it will patrol. The establishment of the squadron follows China’s creation of two naval groups in the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea off the northern China coast, the agency said. Japan said earlier this month that China has started production from a potentially lucrative gas field in the East China Sea. It said that although China appeared to be drilling on its side of a dividing line, it could extract underground gas that was on the Japanese side of the line. China, which does not recognize the maritime line, said its exploration was in undisputed waters. The two sides will hold consultations in Tokyo on Friday on the dispute. Previous high-level meetings have led to no agreement other than to continue dialogue. Earlier in September, Japan said it spotted Chinese warships at the disputed fields for the first time in what Beijing called a routine exercise.
	"*Fck it, Dude. Let's go bowling**." ---The Big Lebowski


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