Japanese PM reports progress with China on gas dispute

Japan and China have made progress in resolving a long-running dispute over lucrative maritime gas fields, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said Friday after meeting his Chinese counterpart.

“We have achieved some progress towards a specific solution. Our mutual understanding has deepened through dialogue and we have achieved relations of trust,” Fukuda told a joint news conference with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

“We shared a determination to solve this problem at an early stage. We will try to swiftly solve this issue.”

However Fukuda, who held talks with Wen on Friday morning, gave no specifics about any compromise from either side or a timeframe for a resolution of the dispute.

Fukuda had voiced optimism in Tokyo on Thursday before heading to Beijing that his meetings with China’s leaders would lead to a breakthrough in the two nations’ rival claims to lucrative gas fields in the East China Sea.

Eleven rounds of negotiations on the gas fields since 2004 have yielded little, with China rejecting the maritime border which Japan considers a starting point for discussions.

Speaking in Tokyo on Friday as Wen and Fukuda met, Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura downplayed expectations of a breakthrough, saying there were still major differences.

“China has shown some understanding of Japan’s principles, but I don’t feel we’ve been able to get over the remaining problems,” Komura told reporters.

“We’ve come to the point that we talk about details for some parts of the negotiations, but in the current situation it’s still difficult for us to immediately get over (the differences).”

Fukuda, in China for four days, is due to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Friday evening.

Beijing, Friday, AFP