From the Financial Times:
Japan has raised the possibility of exploring for oil and gas around the Senkaku islands, where sovereignty is contested by Japan, China and Taiwan, in a move that appears aimed at raising the stakes in Tokyo’s dispute with Beijing over energy resources.
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Tokyo recently earmarked Y10bn (¬£51m) for construction of the country’s first ship capable of 3-D seismic mapping of the ocean floor. A government official said Japan wanted to build the ship, which would not be finished until 2008, so it could survey the Senkaku islands, north-east of Taiwan.
