Chinese ministry releases high-definition maps of the disputed chain, which is administered by Tokyo

Report comes just two months after Beijing expanded the authority of its coastguard to use force

The survey of the Diaoyu Islands – known as the Senkakus in Japan – was released on Monday by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources and covers the main island and two smaller nearby islets.

“The report … supplements and improves the basic geographic data of the Diaoyu Islands and its affiliated islands, and provides important support for the management of the Diaoyu Islands’ resources and environmental protection,” the ministry said.

The report includes high-definition topographic maps of the land features as well as their surrounding seabed up to 30m (98 feet) below the surface.

The ministry said the maps were based on historical survey data, as well as high-resolution satellite remote sensing surveys.

The report also included some photos of the island and islets taken from survey vessels sailing close to the site.

The chain consists of five uninhabited islets and three barren rocks, with the largest covering 4.3 sq km (1.66 square miles).

The maritime features are located in the East China Sea between Taiwan and Japan’s Okinawa Islands, near important international trading waterways, and have the potential to generate vast exclusive economic zones.

The area is also a traditional fishing ground, and could harbour reserves of resources such as oil.

Japan has occupied the Diaoyus since 1895 but China claims that it has owned the area for centuries.

The dispute has been a source of tension between the two countries, particularly since 2012, when the Japanese government nationalised the land from private owners.

Beijing has responded by frequently sending its coastguard ships to patrol and confront Japanese vessels in the surrounding waters.

Concerns about the contested waters have grown since February, when China passed a law allowing its coastguard force to use weapons against foreign ships that Beijing deems to have illegally entered its waters.

Tokyo has repeatedly voiced opposition to the legislation.

In 2014, the Obama administration explicitly said the Senkakus were covered by the US-Japan joint defence treaty, a point that US President Joe Biden reaffirmed earlier this year.

Last month, the US and Japanese governments began talks on conducting large-scale joint drills in the area specifically as part of exercises to defend the islands