Gas Field Dispute Reignited

Japan has made overtures that it may bring China before an international tribunal over the long-disputed Chunxiao gas field in the East China Sea, according to a Japanese newspaper February 22.

The Mainichi Newspaper reported that the Japanese government accused China of developing the gas field – in violation of a 2008 joint agreement on cooperative development – and the foreign minister told his Chinese counterpart that Tokyo might consider appealing to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.