Japan’s Foreign Ministry announced that it had filed a complaint with the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo, accusing Beijing of installing 17 drilling rigs to explore disputed gas fields in a sector where the two countries’ exclusive economic zones in the East China Sea intersect. .

She considered that “it is very unfortunate that the Chinese side is unilaterally conducting development in these waters,” noting that “the boundaries of the two exclusive economic zones and the continental shelf in the East China Sea have not yet been demarcated.”

Japan considers the midline between the coasts of the two countries to be the boundaries of its exclusive economic zones, while China considers the border closer to the coast of Japan, basing this demarcation on the continental shelf and other characteristics of the ocean.

In 2008, Tokyo and Beijing agreed to jointly develop gas rights in disputed areas and suspended unilateral exploration. But negotiations on how to implement the agreement were suspended two years later and have not been resumed since.