China Seen Building New Structure in East China Sea

Jiji Press

16:05 JST, January 17, 2026

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The Japanese Foreign Ministry said Friday that it has confirmed moves by China to build a new structure on the Chinese side of the median line between the two countries in the East China Sea.

“It is extremely regrettable that China is advancing unilateral development in the East China Sea, while the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf in the East China Sea have not yet been delimited,” the ministry said in a statement.

Masaaki Kanai, director general of the ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, lodged a protest on Friday over the matter with Shi Yong, deputy chief of mission at the Chinese Embassy in Japan, calling on Beijing to work on implementing the joint development agreement reached in 2008.