Offshore staff
Japan has told China to stop drilling in the disputed area in the East China Sea pending a United Nation ruling, which would be based on a treaty signed by both countries.
Japanese Trade Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said Japanese officials had detected signs of Chinese drilling in the area and had lodged a diplomatic complaint with Beijing.
Tokyo has awarded petroleum exploration concession in the area to Teikoku Oil Co of Japan.
Tokyo and Beijing disagree on how much of the area the two countries can claim in the East China Sea, which divides China's eastern coast and Japan's southern island chain of Okinawa.
Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, coastal countries can claim an economic zone extending 370 km from their shores. The UN has until May 2009 to rule on the claims based on the treaty signed by both countries.
China claims a separate international treaty that allows coastal countries to extend their borders to the edge of the undersea continental shelf, and has located a drilling platform west of the line, which Japan regards as the two sides' sea boundary.
Tokyo remains concerned that the Chinese could tap reserves from a reservoir straddling the boundary line.
08/15/05
