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China revises area for sea traffic ban(UPI Top Stories Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)China has modified the area for a ban on maritime traffic around disputed gas fields in the East China Sea, a Japanese official said. Japan's Foreign Ministry said early Tuesday that the banned area does not include waters on the Japanese side of the median line following China's correction, Kyodo News reported. The Japanese Embassy in Beijing received notice from China's Foreign Ministry Monday night that there had been a mistake in defining the banned area and that it would be revised. Chinese maritime authorities in March banned ship traffic around disputed gas fields in the East China Sea while expansion operations were under way at the state-owned Pinghu gas field. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe told reporters Monday that China's action amounts to an infringement of Japan's sovereign rights and asked China to confirm whether the expansion work is planned or has already started. |