Tokyo seeks end to gas dispute

TOKYO - JAPAN has proposed to China joint development of disputed undersea gas fields in a bid to resolve a key source of bilateral friction, a Japanese newspaper said yesterday.

The two countries have been contending for control over areas in the East China Sea that may hold up to 200 billion cu m of natural gas.

According to a Nikkei daily report yesterday, Japan recently proposed to China that they jointly develop gas fields in a wider area surrounding the median line of the two countries in the East China Sea.

Japan considers the sea border to be halfway between each country's shores; China says its territory extends to the end of the continental shelf. China began test-drilling in the area in 2003. Japan has accused China of starting production and siphoning off gas on Tokyo's side.

Japan earlier sought to limit the joint development area to the four gas fields that are being developed by China, while Beijing has suggested areas that Tokyo considers to be on its side of the maritime border.

In the new proposal, Tokyo would foot the bill for the drilling facility that China has set up, said Nikkei, which did not specify its sources.

It said Japan's Vice-Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi made the proposal during a visit to Beijing in January.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BLOOMBERG