Japan protests new Chinese construction in East China Sea
“In the latest development, Japan said on Tuesday it lodged a protest with China after observing a new structure in a natural gas field in the East China Sea. Tokyo reported finding another similar Chinese structure in the same area in May.”
“Ambiguous boundaries are part of the problem. Neither Japan or South Korea have agreed maritime borders with China, raising the prospect that Beijing is looking to exert de facto control over a widening swath of the ocean by staking a claim with new structures. Such a move could have parallels with China’s building of artificial features in the South China Sea to expand its area of control there.”
“Japan wants the geographical median line in the East China Sea to be recognized as the maritime border, but China claims exclusive economic development rights extending further east, closer to the Japanese island of Okinawa. Between 2013 and 2015 China erected a dozen drilling rigs just west of the median line, before later adding six more.”
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/25/japan/east-china-sea-construction-protest/