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| Japan Protests China Because Develops Unilateral Resources in East China Sea |
International Military - Japan said it had lodged a protest with Beijing about what it called China 's unilateral resource development in the East China Sea . Japan said the activities continued despite a 2008 bilateral cooperation agreement in the territorial waters.
In the East China Sea, where no official border between the two countries has been drawn, China has built more than a dozen gas exploration platforms west of the equidistant line between the two countries.
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Japan's Foreign Ministry said it lodged a protest with a senior official at the Chinese embassy in Tokyo after the Japanese Navy discovered the basic structure of a new platform being transported there.
"It is regrettable that China is continuing its unilateral development activities, despite being on the west side of the equidistant line between Japan and China," the ministry said in a statement Friday.
Meanwhile, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said he agreed with his Chinese counterpart to promote dialogue and exchanges. "Japan warns against China's attempts to change the status quo in the South and East China Seas," he said.
"The peace and security of the Taiwan Strait is important not only for Japan, but also for the international community," Kishi told reporters of his meeting with Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe in Singapore.
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China is one of Japan's western neighbors. Relations between China and Japan, the world's second and third largest economies, have long been plagued by territorial disputes over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea and the legacy of Japan's wartime aggression.