The Japanese Embassy in China released a statement yesterday (May 20th): "Recently, Japan discovered that China has built new structures on the west side of the Japan-China geographical median line in the East China Sea. In response, the Japanese government expressed regret over China's unilateral development activities in this sea area under the circumstance where the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf boundaries in the East China Sea have not been defined, and lodged a protest with the Chinese government."
[Smart Comment]: If we are to talk about this matter, we need to make it clear. Both sides must be reasonable and cannot allow any party to take advantage arbitrarily. What Japan refers to as the "west side" is actually the Chinese side. The Chinese side of the East China Sea is a shallow continental shelf with depths mostly within 200 meters. Its geological conditions are relatively stable, making pipeline laying convenient and reducing the cost of oil and gas field exploitation while decreasing technical difficulty. By contrast, the Japanese side features the Okinawa Trough, where the depth rapidly increases to 1000-2000 meters. Its geological conditions are complex, and the cost of developing oil and gas fields is high, with significant technical challenges. Besides using ships for transportation, there are virtually no other feasible ways to transport resources, thus making it less valuable to exploit. Japan itself does not develop on its side but still attempts to prevent China from legally developing on its side, which is unreasonable.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1832685357825219/
Disclaimer: This article represents only the author's views.