East Asia - Policy China and Japan pledges to resolve East China Sea gas dispute

摘要

In the first visit of its kind for over ten years, Chinese President Hu Jintao has visited Japan and pledged to resolve a territorial dispute over six gas fields in the East China Sea which could hold up to 364 Bcf of gas, as well as 17.9 billion barrels of oil. The disputed area is a group of high-yield fields including the $2 billion Xihu development centering on CNOOC's Chunxiao field, which Japan claims extends into their territorial waters. China has responded with offers of joint exploration projects in areas other than Chunxaio, but these have been rejected by Japan. China has made claims that its territory includes the full distance of its continental shelf, extending to within a few kilometers of Japanese Okinawa, whereas the Japanese government has proposed an equidistant midpoint between the two coastlines.