Law of the Sea

Japan rejected China's proposal to jointly develop gas fields near the disputed Diaoyu (Senkaku) islands in the East China Sea. Japan has put forth its own plan to jointly develop gas fields in the East China Sea, but the plan does not include the contentious islands.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman later maintained that the Chinese proposal takes the actual situation of the East China Sea into consideration and is "very reasonable". He said that the drilling conducted by China on the East China Sea occurred in the Chinese waters not subject to any dispute with Japan.