China said recently it had rejected a protest lodged by Japan over the development of gas fields in disputed waters of the East China Sea.
Tokyo’s foreign ministry said it had confirmed that Beijing was setting up drilling rigs in the area — where the two countries’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) claims overlap.
It said it had “issued a strong protest” to the Chinese embassy. China’s foreign ministry said it did “not accept Japan’s groundless accusations and has rejected Japan’s socalled protest”.
A 2008 agreement saw Japan and China agree to jointly develop undersea gas reserves in the disputed area, with a ban on independent drilling by either country.
But negotiations over how to implement the deal were suspended in 2010.
Tokyo said 21 suspected drilling rigs had been positioned on Beijing’s side of the de facto maritime border, adding it was “extremely regrettable that China is advancing unilateral development”.