CHINA The long-running battle between Japan and China over a disputed oil and gas field in the East China Sea has intensified, after Japan responded to a report that China had started production by saying it would tell China to stop if necessary.
CNOOC, a Chinese state-controlled upstream oil and gas company, ended months of speculation when it said on its homepage on Friday that it had begun production at the field, known in China as Chunxiao and in Japan as Shirakaba.
