Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang on Wednesday said
that the Chinese government was opposed to Japan "making new
trouble" over the disputed East China Sea.
Qin made the remark in response to reports in Japanese media
that Japan had protested China's recent gas exploration operations
in the area.
He added that China conducted oil and gas exploration operations
on its own continental shelf of the East China Sea, which was
"beyond reproach."
"China and Japan do have some disagreements on the demarcation
of the East China Sea," Qin said, calling for the two sides to
resolve the issue through negotiations.
The two countries have never conducted a demarcation of the area
and China refuses to recognize Japan's unilateral claim of a
so-called "median line."
China has also proposed shelving the disagreement and jointly
exploring the region to help maintain stability in the area and the
healthy development of China-Japan ties.
The two countries have conducted six rounds of East China Sea
talks since October 2004. The last was held in Beijing in July.
(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2006)