ÿþ<html xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2000/10/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:my="http://localhost/namespace"> <head> <META http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-16"> <title>East China Sea Energy Data, Statistics and Analysis - Oil, Gas, Electricity, Coal</title> <meta name="description" content="East China Sea Energy Data, Statistics and Analysis - Oil, Gas, Electricity, Coal"> <meta name="keywords" content="East China Sea Energy Data, Statistics and Analysis - Oil, Gas, Electricity, Coal"> <meta http-equiv="pragma" content="no-cache"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"><script language="JavaScript" src="../scripts/printme.js" type="text/javascript"></script><script language="JavaScript" src="../scripts/eia_header.js" type="text/javascript"></script><script language="JavaScript" src="../scripts/eia_footer.js" type="text/javascript"></script><LINK HREF="../eia_sitewideF.css" TYPE="text/css" REL="StyleSheet"><map name="Map"><area shape="rect" coords="3,4,73,59" href="http://www.eia.gov" alt="Energy Information Administration Home " title="Energy Information Administration Home"> <area shape="rect" coords="76,10,379,48" href="../index.html" alt="Country Analysis Briefs" title="Country Analysis Briefs"></map><LINK HREF="../cabs.css" TYPE="text/css" REL="StyleSheet"> </head> <body style="margin: 0px;"> <table summary="" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"> <tr> <td colspan="3"><script language="JavaScript">InsertEIAHeaderCode();</script></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="595" style="background:url(../images/R4_03.jpg)"> <div class="cssBreadcrumbs"><a href="http://www.eia.gov">Home</a> &gt; <a href="http://www.eia.gov/international">International</a> &gt; <a href="../index.html">Country Analysis Briefs</a> &gt; East China Sea</div> </td> <td width="9000" style="background:url(../images/R4_04.jpg)"><img src="../images/R4_04.jpg" alt="Country Analysis Briefs"></td> <td style="background:url(../images/R4_04.jpg)" align="right"><a href="../index.html"><img src="../images/R4_05.jpg" alt="Country Analysis Briefs" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="background:url(../images/R4_06.jpg)" id="header_text"><img src="../images/Blank.gif" width="595" height="1"><br><span class="cssCountryTitle">East China Sea</span></td> <td style="background:url(../images/R4_07.jpg)"></td> <td style="background:url(../images/R4_07.jpg)" align="right"><a href="../index.html"><img src="../images/R4_08.jpg" alt="Country Analysis Briefs" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td colspan="2" style="background:#FFFFFF" id="main"> <table summary="" width="100%"> <tr valign="top"> <td></td> <td align="left"><span class="cssHeader1">Territorial Issues</span></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="150" class="cssTakeAway">China and Japan dispute ownership of significant portions of the East China Sea, and the disputed areas involve oil and natural gas resources. </td> <td class="cssContent"> <div><span style="">Related: </span><a href="http://www.eia.gov/emeu/cabs/South_China_Sea/SouthChinaSeaTerritorialIssues.html"><span style="">South China Sea</span></a><p></p> </div> <div><span style="">The dispute between </span><a href="http://www.eia.gov/emeu/cabs/China/Background.html"><span style="">China</span></a> and <a href="http://www.eia.gov/emeu/cabs/Japan/Background.html"><span style="">Japan</span></a><span style=""> over the resources in the </span><span style="">East China Sea</span><span style=""> revolves around two issues: demarcating the sea</span><span style=""> boundary </span><span style="">between each country and sovereignty over the Daioyu/Senkaku Islands. </span><a href="http://www.eia.gov/emeu/cabs/Taiwan/Background.html"><span style="">Taiwan's</span></a> claim parallels Chinas, particularly with regard to the Daioyu/Senkaku Islands, but Taiwan has not actively pursued the resources. <span style="">Bureau chief-level negotiations between </span><span style="">China</span><span style=""> and </span><span style="">Japan</span><span style=""> to resolve the territorial claims began in late 2004; five of the currently eleven rounds of talks were held in 2007. </span><p></p> </div><span class="cssSubheading1">Demarcating the sea boundary</span><br><div><span style="">The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (</span><a href="http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_overview_convention.htm"><span style="">UNCLOS</span></a><span style="">) defines both an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and a continental shelf. </span><span style="">Japan</span><span style=""> defines its boundary as the UNCLOS EEZ extending westward from its southern Kyusyu island and Ryuku islands. </span><span style="">China</span><span style=""> defines its boundary using the UNCLOS continental shelf, but extends its territorial claims using the concept of a natural extension of its continental shelf. The overlapping claims amount to nearly 81,000 square miles, an area slightly less than the state of </span><span style="">Kansas</span><span style="">. </span><span style="">Japan</span><span style=""> has proposed a </span><span style="">median line</span><span style=""> (a line drawn equidistant between both countries EEZs) as a means to resolve the issue, but this has not proven acceptable to </span><span style="">China</span><span style="">.</span><p></p> </div> <div align="center"> <div align="center" title="East China Sea Map" style="page-break-inside: avoid;"><img src="images/ECS-Dispute_for_web_page.gif" alt="East China Sea Map" border="0" style="" class="cabs_graphic"></div> <p></p> </div><span class="cssSubheading1">Daioyu/Senkaku Islands</span><br><div>Japan occupies the Daioyu/Senkaku Islands (Chinese name/Japanese name; DSI), but both China and Taiwan claim them. The complexity of sovereignty over DSI begins in the closing decade of the 19th Century. Until the Sino-Japanese War, <span style="">Taiwan</span>, as part of China, was in charge of the management of the Daioyu islands. At the conclusion of the Sino-Japanese War in 1895, Japan assumed control of Taiwan and DSI. Upon Japans defeat in WWII, Taiwan was returned to China, but no specific mention was made of DSI in any subsequent document. The conclusion of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 saw Taiwans Kuomintang proclaim themselves the rightful rulers of Taiwan and China (Republic of China; ROC). Mainland Chinas Communists proclaimed Taiwan part of China (Peoples Republic of China; PRC).<p></p> </div> <div>Little attention was given towards DSI sovereignty until 1969 when a UN report indicated possible large hydrocarbon deposits in the waters around DSI. In June 1971, the <a href="http://www.eia.gov/country/country_energy_data.cfm?fips=US"><span style="">United States</span></a> and Japan signed the Okinawa Reversion Treaty which included DSI as part of the Okinawa islands to be returned to Japanese control; the treaty was quickly challenged by both the PRC and the ROC. In September 1970, a Taiwanese gunboat planted a flag on DSI, generating strong protests from both China and Japan. In 1978, Japanese civilians erected a lighthouse on the largest island in DSI. Due to typhoon activity in the area, repair and reconstruction of the lighthouse has since been permitted by the Japanese government. To date, the sovereignty of the islands remains contested.<p></p> </div><span class="cssSubheading1">Mediation Efforts</span><br><div>The first bilateral talks between China and Japan over East China Sea issues began in October of 2004 (<a href="Timeline.html"><span style="">timeline of talks</span></a>); Taiwan has not participated in any discussions. Over the course of three years, China and Japan have exchanged ideas to resolve the East China Sea dispute, but to date, no accord has been reached. Japan has consistently requested seismic data from China on its X/O fields and requested that China desist production until an agreement can be reached. China has consistently rejected this claim, insisting that the X/O Trough is within its territorial sovereignty. <p></p> </div> <div>Both China and Japan have offered joint development of the resources as a means of moving forward with development, but the areas in which joint development has been offered have not been agreed to. China has offered joint development of the gas fields north of DSI, sidestepping the sovereignty issue. Japan has offered joint development of the Chunxiao/Shirakaba gas field, sidestepping the sea boundary dispute. To date, neither side has accepted the others offer.<p></p> </div> </td> </tr> </table> <p></p> </td> <td style="background:url(../images/R4_BG.jpg); background-position:right;" align="right"><a href="../index.html"><img src="../images/R4_10.jpg" alt="Country Analysis Briefs" border="0"></a><p></p> <table summary="" class="cssMenu" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="right"> <tr class="cssTableSpacer"> <td class="cssHeader2White" style="text-align:right; padding-right:10px">March 2008</td> </tr> <tr class="cssTableSpacer"> <td></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_b"> <td><a href="Background.html">Background</a></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_a"> <td><img src="../images/R4_Shadow.jpg" align="right" hspace="0" vspace="0"></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_b"> <td><a href="OilNaturalGas.html">Oil and Natural Gas</a></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_a"> <td><img src="../images/R4_Shadow.jpg" align="right" hspace="0" vspace="0"></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_b"> <td><a href="Territorial_Issues.html">Territorial Issues</a></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_a"> <td><img src="../images/R4_Shadow.jpg" align="right" hspace="0" vspace="0"></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_b"> <td><a href="Timeline.html">Timeline</a></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_a"> <td><img src="../images/R4_Shadow.jpg" align="right" hspace="0" vspace="0"></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_b"> <td><a href="Links.html">Links</a></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_a"> <td><img src="../images/R4_Shadow.jpg" align="right" hspace="0" vspace="0"></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_b"> <td><a href="Sources.html">Sources</a></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_a"> <td><img src="../images/R4_Shadow.jpg" align="right" hspace="0" vspace="0"></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu3"> <td>Full Report<br></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenuRegion"> <td><a href="Full.html" target="_newWin">HTML</a><br></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenuRegion"> <td><a href="pdf.pdf" target="_newWin">PDF</a><br></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_a"> <td><img src="../images/R4_Shadow.jpg" align="right" hspace="0" vspace="0"></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu3"> <td>Contact Info</td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu2"> <td><span class="cssMenu2Printer"><a href="mailto:cabs@eia.doe.gov">cabs@eia.doe.gov</a><br>(202)586-8800<br><a href="../Contacts.html">[more contacts]</a></span></td> </tr> <tr class="cssMenu_a"> <td><img src="../images/R4_Shadow.jpg" align="right" hspace="0" vspace="0"></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"><script language="JavaScript">InsertEIAFooterCode();</script></td> </tr> </table> </body> </html>