Talks between China and Japan over the disputed gas fields in the East China Sea ended Tuesday with an agreement between the two sides to meet again, state media reported. Japanese officials hoped to use the two-day negotiations to elicit a response from China on an earlier Tokyo proposal for joint development of the gas fields. However, China gave few details of its position, describing the talks as �pragmatic and constructive�. �I think there was a desire to move forward through cooperation, but whether that desire will be reflected in actual content is a separate issue,� said Japan’s chief envoy, Kenichiro Sasae. �Japan’s proposal remains on the table as it was.� The two nations have long been in dispute over the sovereignty of the area containing the gas fields. After China began drilling in 2003, Japan complained that the operation was encroaching upon its territory.
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