Why does China withhold the data? How will China conduct future exploration in the East China Sea?
On the 25th of this month, China and Japan held consultations on the questions related to the East China Sea. The Chinese delegation was headed by Cui Tiankai, Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of China’s Foreign Ministry and made up of officials from the Energy Bureau of National Development and Reform Commission and the State Oceanographic Administration. They held consultations in Beijing with the Japanese delegation, headed by Mitoji Yabunaka, Director-General of the Bureau of Asian and Oceanian Affairs of Japan’s Foreign Ministry, and comprising officials from Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Cabinet Office and Maritime Safety Agency. Vice Minister in Charge of NDRC Zhang Guobao and Vice Foreign Minister Zhou Wenzhong respectively met with the delegates. During the consultations, the two sides expounded their own positions and concerns over the delimitation of the East China Sea and agreed that China and Japan did have differences out there on the delimit
