China, Japan reach consensus on East China Sea issue?

Japan and China have agreed to jointly develop gas fields and share profits in the disputed areas of the East China Sea, Reuters says, citing the Japanese news agency Kyodo. An official announcement of the agreement can be expected this week, AP says.

The reported agreement follows a May summit between Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese President Hu Jintao. According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, the Japanese government is currently finalizing the details of the agreement, Reuters writes.

China and Japan have been involved in a long-running dispute over the development of gas fields on maritime territory that both claim to be theirs. Japan has estimated the field to contain the equivalent of 180 million barrels in oil reserves, but both countries agree that much more gas or oil could be found.

After the May summit, China and Japan decided to put an end to the territorial feud for now and agree on joint gas field development.

According to Japanese media, an agreement was reached after Beijing agreed to allow Japan to invest in its gas exploration in return for a share of the profits, AP and Reuters write. China's Foreign Ministry has yet to comment on the reports.

Phil Deans, a professor of international affairs at Temple University in Tokyo, told Reuters that, if true, the reported deal would represent a "great leap forward."

Sino-Japanese talks hit a stalemate during Premier Junichiro Koizumi's 2001-2005 tenure, partly because of his visits to a war shrine perceived by Beijing as a symbol of Tokyo's past military aggression, Reuters says.

Since the inauguration of Yasuo Fukuda to office one year ago, the relationship has undergone vast improvement. However, the now reported agreement is unlikely to put an end to the larger dispute, because the issue of demarcation still remains, AP says, citing Kyodo.