Law of the Sea

Under pressure to resolve the dispute "as soon as possible", China entered into a "principled consensus" with Japan on the joint exploration and development of disputed oil and gas fields in the East China Sea. The agreement designates a 2,700 sq km "block for joint development" for joint exploration and development and "welcome[s]" Japanese companies to participate in the development of the Chunxiao (Shirakaba) oil and gas field in accordance with Chinese law. It is merely an interim agreement "in the transitional period prior to delimitation", and is without prejudice to the legal positions of the parties. Despite its interim nature and the continuing legal differences, the agreement may indeed represent a step towards injecting some practical senses to the emotionally charged Sino-Japanese relationship. After all, if oil and gas in the disputed seas amount to no more than 93 million barrels of oil (or three weeks of Japan’s energy needs), what is the point of wasting all the resources and energies (pun intended) on a relatively insignificant piece of commodity?