Japan Has Discovered Tons of Rare Earth Elements on Its Most Remote Island. Casually, a Chinese Aircraft Carrier Just Approached

In 2022, Japan made a decision that would bear fruit months later. It no longer wanted to depend so heavily on China for rare earth elements, so it launched a series of projects to search for them—even on the ocean floor. In the summer of 2024, Japan struck gold beneath the seabed with a 230-million-ton deposit of these “precious” elements—a trove found under the nation’s easternmost island. Whether coincidence or not, something unprecedented happened off the enclave: a Chinese fleet with an aircraft carrier.

An unprecedented maneuver. A combat group led by the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning entered Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for the first time. It marked a new phase in Beijing’s naval projection and raised immediate concerns in Tokyo and Washington.

The group—consisting of the aircraft carrier, two guided-missile destroyers, and a supply ship—entered waters about 186 miles southwest of Minamitorishima, the easternmost point of Japan’s archipelago. It then left the area to conduct aircraft takeoff and landing exercises. Japan avoided confirming whether it had lodged a formal protest but said it had sent an “appropriate” message to Chinese authorities and deployed the destroyer Haguro to monitor the group’s activities.

Minamitorishima and its treasures. The incident isn’t just symbolic. Minamitorishima is uninhabited by civilians, but hosts facilities operated by the Japanese Meteorological Agency, Self-Defense Forces, and Coast Guard. Despite its isolation—about 1,180 miles from Tokyo—this remote island has become a geo-economic hotspot due to its vast undersea deposits of rare metals, especially manganese nodules.

Recent studies estimate that the nearby seabed holds more than 200 million tons of resources essential for strategic technologies and high-capacity batteries. The Liaoning’s close passage to the enclave raises concerns about China’s interest in economic zones where Japanese sovereignty is undisputed—beyond the realm of territorial disputes.

Déjà vu. This was the first documented incursion by a Chinese aircraft carrier into this part of Japan’s EEZ, but it’s not an isolated incident. Last month, the Liaoning sailed between two islands in southern Japan, also within another region of the Japanese EEZ.

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In September 2024, the Liaoning crossed between Yonaguni and Iriomote, two islands near Taiwan. It even entered Japan’s contiguous waters, which extend up to 24 nautical miles from its coast. Through these maneuvers, Beijing has tested navigation patterns that expand the operational range of its navy, strengthening its ability to operate far from its coastline and project power in sensitive areas.

Tactical escalation. These incursions come amid persistent regional tensions. Japan and China have been locked in a dispute for years over the uninhabited Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu in Chinese), which lie in the East China Sea.

Beijing continues to assert its claim by conducting regular naval patrols, placing buoys and demonstrating military strength in the western Pacific with vessels like the Liaoning. The repetition of these maneuvers suggests a deliberate campaign to raise the regional tolerance threshold for a Chinese presence in areas traditionally dominated by the U.S. and its allies.

Restrained response. A spokesman for Japan’s Ministry of Defense interpreted the maneuver as an effort by China to “improve its operational capabilities in distant areas,” which aligns with recent shifts in Chinese military doctrine. That doctrine has become more ambitious—and less covert.

Although Tokyo has opted for a measured response, focusing on surveillance rather than confrontation, the message is clear: Japan does not intend to normalize Chinese military transit in its maritime areas of influence, especially those near strategic resources. The absence of a formal diplomatic protest may suggest an attempt to avoid immediate escalation while consolidating alliances and weighing countermeasures.

A red line crossed. What was unthinkable just a few years ago—a Chinese combat fleet led by an aircraft carrier sailing near Japan’s eastern tip—is now an operational reality with lasting implications. As China strengthens its fleet and deploys its assets more confidently, the Pacific maritime frontier becomes an increasingly unstable chessboard where a fait accompli strategy threatens to redefine the rules.

The Liaoning’s transit near the Japanese island challenges the regional balance and tests the normalization of a Chinese military presence in areas critical to Japan’s energy, territorial and technological security.

It’s a chess game playing out on the ocean, where every move tests the other side’s reaction.

Image | rhk111

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