China has continued to operate outside of its own recognised sovereign boundary, extending its naval and air reach in the Asia-Pacific region.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea describes an EEZ as an area in which a nation has exclusive rights to exploration and resources, within 370km of its coastline.
No civilians live on Minamitori, roughly 1,900km south-east of Tokyo, but large deposits of rare metals surround the island, with experts estimating 200million tonnes of manganese nodules rich in rare metals exist on the seabed near the island.
The Liaoning has previously strayed uncomfortably close, 24 miles, to Japan’s coastline, sailing between two southern Japanese islands within the EEZ last month while conducting take-offs and landings on deck.
The incursions have piqued US attention, with President Donald Trump authorising an increased military presence in the Indo-Pacific area which has around 400,000 US troops deployed there.
Last month’s drills were labelled “unacceptable” by Tokyo who also expressed “serious concerns” to their Beijing counterparts.
Japan also accused China of conducting secret maritime scientific research within its EEZ, close to Okinotori, in May.
