BEIJING, Nov. 18 -- Japan has clarified that its road project cooperation with India will not be in the disputed China-India border area.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the remarks at a press briefing when asked about a recent report that said Japan International Corp. Agency (JICA) had a contract to build roads on the China-India border.

According to the report by Indian magazine Legal Era on Nov. 4, India has agreed to give JICA about 2,000 kilometers of road along the Chinese border. JICA will provide financial assistance and technical expertise to the road project.

"We [...] inquired about the project," said Hong. "Japan clarified that its cooperation with India was not in the disputed border area."