East China Sea
The
East China Sea is a
marginal sea east of
China. It is a part of the
Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km². In
China, the sea is called the
East Sea. In
Korea, the sea is sometimes called
"South Sea", but this is more often used to denote only the area near South Korea's southern coast.
The East China Sea is bounded on the East by the
Kyushu and
Ryukyu islands, on the South by
Taiwan, and on the West by
mainland China. It is connected with the
South China Sea by the
Taiwan Strait and with the
Sea of Japan by the
Korea Strait; it opens in the North to the
Yellow Sea.
Territories with borders on the sea (clockwise from north) include:
South Korea,
Japan,
Taiwan, and
Mainland China.
Rivers
The
Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) is the largest river flowing into the East China Sea.
The
People's Republic of China (PRC) recently discovered that there exists an undersea
natural gas field in the East China Sea, part of the field lies within the Chinese
EEZ while the remaining lies on the disputed
EEZ between
Japan and the
PRC. The
PRC has set up the
Chunxiao gas field in its own
EEZ (located 4 km inside the Chinese side of the EEZ boundary claimed by Japan) to tap up the natural gas.
Japan also seeks a share in the natural gas resource because it is believed that part of the field lies within the disputed
EEZ.
The East China Sea is a place of territorial disputes between the
People's Republic of China (PRC) and
Japan, notably for undersea
natural gas resources. Under the
United Nation's
Law of the Sea,
PRC claims the disputed ocean territory as its own
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) due to its being part of
PRC's natural extension of its
continental shelf, while
Japan claims the disputed ocean territory as its own EEZ because it is within 200 nautical miles (370 km) from Japan's coast.
*
Geography of China*
Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Islands in
Chinese)
*
South China Sea*
Xihu Trough* Kosuke Takahashi.
Gas and oil rivalry in the East China Sea Asia Times Online. July 27, 2004.
*
Chinese submarine enters Japanese waters.
Wikinews. November 18, 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2006.
*
Oil and gas in troubled waters The Economist. October 6, 2005.
* J Sean Curtin.
Stakes rise in Japan, China gas dispute Asia Times Online. October 19, 2005.
