Japan PM: Tokyo-Beijing nearing an agreement on the contentious East China sea dispute
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  • Signaling a dramatic break-through in the standoff over developing a string of natural gas fields in a contested part of the East China Sea lying between the Shanghai coast and the Japanese island of Okinawa, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda stated on June 17 that the two countries were close to resolving the dispute. While exact details of the agreement were not available, Japanese newspapers reported that the deal would involve Japanese investment in Chinese companies that would drill in the area. Both Tokyo and Beijing have asserted that parts of the gas fields fell under their exclusive economic zones.

    The agreement in offing would be another addition to the string of measures aimed at improving relations between the countries, which had touched an all-time low four years ago when tensions rose over the disputed gas fields. Both the countries had also dispatched naval vessels and planes to patrol the area1.

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