This photo taken on Feb 21, 2024 shows the Kinmen bridge and a view of Xiamen in the distance seen from an estuary in Kinmen. [Photo/Xinhua]

　　Japan is hyping up and contesting China's legitimate oil and gas development activities within its own jurisdictional waters in the East China Sea. Clinging to unilateral maritime claims, Japan has disregarded the fundamental principles of international law and interfered with China's exercise of its maritime rights.

　　China's development of natural gas fields and the construction of facilities are entirely legitimate activities within its jurisdictional waters.

　　They align with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and international practice, and no country has the right to interfere in the matter or criticize these moves.

　　The core of the East China Sea issue is the longstanding differences between China and Japan regarding the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone, the development of marine resources and maritime strategic interests.

　　Japan persistently disregards the geographical reality of a natural boundary of the Sino-Japanese continental shelf. Instead, it forcibly promotes a unilateral "median line" claim to impose unreasonable demands on others. This violates the spirit of international law of the sea and runs counter to the fundamental interests of the healthy development of China-Japan bilateral relations.

　　Tokyo is now trying to escalate the issue through exaggeration and falsehoods aimed at attracting international attention. By claiming that the newly built facilities amount to "unilaterally changing the status quo" it wants to incite hardline domestic sentiment and court external forces to intervene.