Law of the Sea

China and Japan were reportedly getting closer to resolving their dispute over gas reserves in the East China Sea, something the Chinese side saw as paving the way for a successful visit by President Hu Jintao to Japan in the spring. When the Chinese negotiators are pressured to add short-term glamour to their leadership, naturally they have no choice but to make concessions. A Japanese diplomat said the Chinese had taken a “huge step” by implicitly admitting the Japanese insistence on using the equidistance line as the dividing line between the disputed seabeds.