HANOI (Kyodo) Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, agreed Thursday the two countries should strive to conclude at an early date negotiations aimed at signing a treaty over joint gas field development in the East China Sea, a Japanese official said.
Okada and Yang, who met in Hanoi on the sidelines of meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, officially agreed that Japan and China will hold the first round of talks on sealing the gas pact Tuesday in Tokyo, the official said.
Yukio Hatoyama, Prime Minister Naoto Kan's predecessor, and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had agreed in Tokyo in May to launch talks on the gas exploration treaty at an early date.