Japan protests China gas drilling

TOKYO (AFP) — Japan said Thursday it had lodged a protest with China over the operation of a mobile drilling vessel in an area of the East China Sea rich in gas deposits.

“We have confirmed that a mobile drilling vessel has been moored and anchored in waters” on the Chinese side of the two countries’ median line, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Thursday.

The gas field under the joint development agreement lies in an area where both countries’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs) overlap.

Japan says the median line between the two nations should mark the limits of their respective EEZs, but China insists the border should be drawn closer to Japan, taking into account the continental shelf and other features of the ocean.