Originally published on 22 July, 2015 Sign up for a free trial of News Direct's animated news graphics at http://newsdirect.nma.com.tw/Reuters.aspx ----------------------------------------­----------------------------------------­---------------- For story suggestions please contact tips@nma.com.tw Japan on Tuesday called on China to halt the construction of oil and gas exploration platforms in a disputed area of the East China Sea. The claims were made in as part of a Defence White Paper approved by the Japanese Cabinet on Tuesday. The disputed areas lies southeast of Shanghai and Japanese officials said that there are 16 Chinese platforms close to Japan’s side of the sea, with 12 of those platforms being built since June 2013. Japan has long expressed concern that platforms close to the maritime border could be used to extract resources from the Japanese side of the line. Tokyo is also worried that the platforms could be used as radar stations to monitor air and sea activity in the region, which is close to the disputed Senkaku, or Diaoyu Islands claimed by both countries. China immediately hit back, saying that it would make a “necessary reaction” after Beijing had reviewed the full text of the White Paper. ----------------------------------------­----------------------------------------­---------------- Next Media Animation’s News Direct service provides daily, high-quality, informative 3D animated news graphics that fill in for missing footage and help viewers understand breaking news stories or in-depth features on science, technology, and health. To subscribe to News Direct or for more info, please visit: http://newsdirect.nma.com.tw/Index.aspx