Why is Diaoyu Island so important?

Diaoyu Island is the main island of the Diaoyu Islands. It is located in the East China Sea. It is China's inherent territory. It is about 356 kilometers away from Wenzhou, 385 kilometers away from Fuzhou and 190 kilometers away from Keelung. It covers an area of 4.3838 square kilometers and the surrounding sea area is about 170000 square kilometers.

Strategic value

Territorial resources

The Diaoyu Islands are only uninhabited islands, but they are located in the Okinawa Trough (Ryukyu trough) between China and Japan. In terms of continental shelf division, China and Japan are opposite but not shared continental shelves, separated by the Okinawa (Ryukyu) trough, but the Diaoyu Islands are located on the western edge of the Okinawa (Ryukyu) trough. Once Japan has the administrative jurisdiction over the Diaoyu Islands, it will not only occupy the islands of the Diaoyu Islands, but let its territory step on China's continental shelf, and China and Japan will become opposite and common continental shelves. Luo Yuanzhi, deputy secretary general and major general of the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, pointed out that according to the International Convention on the law of the sea, if the Diaoyu Islands are illegally occupied by Japan, China and Japan will have to divide the continental shelf according to the principle of the middle line. China will not only lose a large number of marine jurisdiction areas and seabed resources, but also the strategic blocking line of the United States and Japan against China will be pushed forward from the first island chain to the west of the middle line.