Defense & Security

Japan Protests China over New Structure in East China Sea

Yomiuri Shimbun file photos
From left, the Japanese national flag, the Chinese national flag

Jiji Press

15:01 JST, August 26, 2025

Tokyo, Aug. 26 (Jiji Press)—Japan has filed a strong protest with Beijing over a new structure that China is installing on the Chinese side of the two countries’ median line in the East China Sea.

China’s move is “extremely regrettable” at a time when the boundary of exclusive economic zones and the continental shelf in the East China Sea has not been fixed, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Masaaki Kanai, director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, lodged a strong protest with Shi Yong, deputy chief of mission of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo.

Japan and China reached an agreement in June 2008 on the joint development of natural resources in the East China Sea, but talks to implement the deal have stalled.

Hayashi urged China to halt the unilateral development and called for an early resumption of the negotiations.