Ya, generally, any AP or associated press publication is credible as a standard for info.
The island in dispute is known as Senkaku or Diaoyu in Chinese. The US gave this island to Japan after the second world war, but China says that it has a prior claim. Who knows?? Japan just bought the island back from a private Japanese owner and now China is upset over this rock.
"There is potential oil and gas," according to Pui-Kwan Tse from the US Geological Survey. It's not fully understood how much there is if any and then if it is even economically feasible.
Seems more about nationalism than a vague prospect of oil, especially if you understand the strained relationship that these countries have had for centuries. The Japanese slaughtered 10s of thousands of Chinese civilians in the Rape of Nanking. Just my take on the situation.