A Chinese navy destroyer, alongside Russian vessels, recently conducted live-fire drills near Japan's Okinotori Island, marking the first such disclosure by Japan.
About Okinotori Island:
Okinotori, also known as Parece Vela, is a tiny, uninhabited island that belongs to Japan.
It's located far out in the Philippine Sea, which is part of the big Pacific Ocean.
It's actually an atoll, which is a ring-shaped coral reef with a lagoon in the middle.
At high tide, only two tiny rocky outcrops remain above sea level.
This atoll is part of a long underwater mountain range called the Palau-Kyushu Ridge.
Okinotori is part of a group called the Ogasawara Islandsgoverned by Japan.
It is Japan's southernmost island.
It is the only Japanese territory south of the Tropic of Cancer and lies to the south of Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Japan says that the waters around Okinotori are its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
However, some other countries, like China, do not agree with Japan's claim over this specific EEZ.
It is in a very important spot for military and shipping routes.
It sits about halfway between Taiwan and Guam (island territory of the United States).
This makes its location strategic in the Pacific Ocean.
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