Japan to take action if China violates E. China Sea project accord

TOKYO, Jan. 17 Kyodo -
Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada told his Chinese counterpart Yang
Jiechi on Sunday in Tokyo that Japan will take ''certain'' action if China goes
against a bilateral accord to jointly explore gas resources in the East China
Sea, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
Yang expressed strong opposition to Okada, who suggested that Japan may start
development on its own in the area if China moves ahead with gas production on
one of the disputed gas fields, known as Shirakaba in Japan, according to a
ministry source.
The heated exchange came after more than a year has passed without the two
countries starting negotiations toward concluding a treaty to implement the
2008 agreement, while China irritated Japan last summer with vessels cruising
around Shirakaba.
On North Korea's nuclear issues, Okada asked China to work toward bringing
Pyongyang back to the six-party denuclearization talks ''unconditionally'' and
Yang was quoted as telling him that China, the chair of the multilateral talks,
will try to get the talks resumed soon.
North Korea last Monday proposed talks with countries involved in the 1950-1953
Korean War to replace the armistice that ended the conflict with a peace
treaty, while saying that the peace talks could be held within the six-party
framework if sanctions against Pyongyang were lifted.
The stalled six-party negotiations involve the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia
and the United States.
The talks between Okada and Yang were held on the sidelines of a meeting in
Tokyo that has brought together foreign ministers from East Asia and Latin
America to discuss such issues as climate change and economy.
On the issue of the gas field development, Okada stressed the need to swiftly
start negotiations toward concluding a treaty and was quoted as telling Yang,
''If there is something that would go against the agreement, the Japanese side
is ready to take certain action,'' according to the ministry official.
In response, Yang said, ''That is not acceptable.'' But he also promised to
Okada that China intends to ''stick to the 2008 accord,'' noting the need to
make efforts to create an environment to implement the accord.
Okada said, ''For substantive progress on the issue, I would like to seek
Foreign Minister Yang's cooperation and instructions (to officials working
under Mr. Yang).''
As part of an agreement reached in June 2008, China agreed to allow investment
by Japanese corporations in the project at the Chunxiao gas field, known as
Shirakaba in Japan. China had already been starting its development at that
time.
In July, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said it has conveyed its concerns to
China over its vessels cruising near Shirakaba, worried that China may be
seeking to develop the field on its own.
China explained at that time that the ships were for ''maintenance and
management'' of the gas field.
The gas exploration dispute stems from the unsettled demarcation of the East
China Sea where the exclusive economic zones claimed by the two countries
overlap.
Meanwhile, Okada and Yang also affirmed during their talks the need to continue
frequent high-level dialogue between the two countries, with Yang inviting
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to visit China for this year's World
Expo in Shanghai, the ministry official said.
==Kyodo