China has transported "unknown" equipment to an offshore facility under development at an East China Sea gas field where both Japan and China have claimed exploration rights, but Tokyo has not yet confirmed drilling has started there, outgoing Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said Friday.
Okada admitted that the government acknowledged the transfer of the equipment to the natural gas field known in Japan as Shirakaba and in China as Chunxiao a few days earlier and repeatedly inquired about it through high-level diplomatic channels. Beijing told Tokyo the equipment was brought in for "repair work," he said.
Aerial photos taken by the Self-Defense Forces revealed the transfer of the equipment to the gas field, according to government sources.