Okinotorishima (沖ノ鳥島, Okinotori-shima), or Parece Vela, is a coral reef, geologically an atoll, with two rocks enlarged with tetrapod-cement structures.

[1] Its dry land area is mostly made up by three concrete encasings and there is a 100 by 50 m (330 by 160 ft) stilt platform in the lagoon housing a research station.

[3] In 1931, confirming that no other countries had claimed the reefs, Japan declared it Japanese territory, placing it under the jurisdiction of the Tokyo Metropolis, classifying it as part of the Ogasawara Village, and naming it Okinotorishima,[3] meaning "remote bird islands".

During 1939 and 1941, a foundation was completed for a lighthouse and a meteorological observation site, but construction was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II.

Japan, as of such date, assumes full responsibility and authority for the exercise of all and any powers of administration, legislation and jurisdiction over the territory and inhabitants of the said islands.

Between 1987 and 1993 the government of Tokyo and later the central government built steel breakwaters and concrete walls to stop the erosion of Okinotorishima, which today leaves only three of the five rocks that were present in 1939 above water; in 1988 the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center built a marine investigation facility which it has since maintained following typhoon damage.

[6] The facility also doubles as an EEZ observation post for the Maritime Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, being equipped with radar and various other sensors to help monitor activity in the zone.

At high tide, one area of the reef is 1.58 m2 (17.0 sq ft), roughly the size of a twin bed, and pokes just 7.4 cm (2.9 in) out of the ocean.

The current artificial dry land areas with their concrete surfaces appear unfit to support terrestrial vegetation either.

The platform has a helicopter landing pad and a large three-story building with a marine investigation facility and a meteorological station.

[12] In order to prevent the island from submersion caused by erosion and maintain its claim to the EEZ, the Japanese government launched an embankment building project in 1987, and Higashikojima and Kitakojima were surrounded by concrete.

[13] Furthermore, the Nippon Foundation has drawn plans to build a lighthouse and increase the size of the reef by breeding microorganisms known as foraminifera.

In 2005, the government installed a radar system (at the cost of ¥ 330 million),[3] repaired a heliport, and placed an official address plaque saying, "1 Okinotori Island, Ogasawara Village, Tokyo" in Japanese.

Governor Ishihara himself toured the islands on May 20, 2005 to inspect the conservation and management efforts, went snorkeling to see firsthand the condition of the surrounding waters, and released Japanese horse mackerel fry to show support for the local fishing industry.

Okinotorishima - which consists of two eroding protrusions no larger than king-size beds - certainly meets the description of an uninhabitable rock that cannot sustain economic life of its own.

[19] The construction of a port, lighthouse, and power station may be used as a counterargument for China's claim regarding "sustain[ing] human habitation or economic life", but the UNCLOS definition for an island per Art.

121(3) also requires one to have its own natural source of freshwater as a prerequisite to sustaining human habitation or economic life, which is absent on Okinotorishima.

[12] Van Dyke has suggested that the situation is similar to the failed British attempt to claim an EEZ around Rockall, an uninhabited granite outcropping in the Atlantic Ocean.

[12] Tadao Kuribayashi, another law professor, disagrees, arguing in part that rocks and reefs differ in composition and structure, and that the intent of the provision was geared toward the former.