BEIJING (AFP): China denied yesterday that any dispute existed between itself

and Indonesia over the South China Seas Natuna Island, but said it was willing to
hold talks with Jakarta to settle demarcation.
There is no dispute between China and Indonesia on possession of the Natuna
Islands, said foreign ministry spokesman Chen Jian when asked about reports of
growing concerns in Jakarta over Chinese interest in a gas-rich zone near the
archipelago

Were willing to hold talks with the Indonesian side to settle demarcation of this
area. Chen added, without elaborating. China is one of the six nations which claims
all or part of the Spratly Island in the South China Sea and its interpretation of
that claim includes part of the large Indonesian maritime zone

of Natuna, between Borneo and the Malaysian Peninsula. United States oil giant
Exxon signed a contract in November with the Indonesia state owned firm
Pertamina to exploit a natural gas field, 250 kilometres northeast of Natuna, in a
zone apparently claimed by China

China has lodged no official protest over the deal. Indonesia has sent a diplomatic
note to Beijing expressing its condemn the moment it found out that the latest
Chinese official map showed Natuna as within dotted line of its boundary.