Japan, China resume gas dialogue

By Quentin Somerville
BBC News, Shanghai

The gas dispute is one of the major irritants between the two sides

China and Japan are meeting in Beijing for a fourth round of talks on a dispute over the development of oil and gas fields in the East China Sea.

The two countries have been feuding over claims to undersea gas deposits in the area, and the delineation of their off-shore border.

It is the latest in a series of disputes between the two countries.

The talks are expected to focus on China's response to a Japanese proposal on joint development of the gas fields.

TROUBLED WATERS China and Japan's exclusive economic zones (EEZs) overlap Japan claims EEZ extends 200 nautical miles from its shore, while China claims EEZ extends to edge of its continental shelf Two countries have never agreed a maritime border The UN says it will arbitrate by May 2009 Also dispute ownership of Senkaku/Diaoyu islands

Japan and China have overlapping claims in the East China Sea.

China refuses to recognise Japan's off-shore border, believing its own territory runs further east to the edge of the continental shelf.

The area is believed to contain large reserves of natural gas and neither side can agree on who should extract them.

Earlier this year Beijing sent a naval reserve fleet to the area after Tokyo granted drilling rights to a Japanese company.

The last talks on this issue, held in January, failed to reach an agreement and there is little expectation that progress will be made this time.

Relations between the two countries are poor, and this is the latest in a series of disputes. There is continuing tension over Japan's war record in the region and China's growing military power.