Conflict in the South China Sea and the International Law of the Sea was written by Professor Li Jinming, a supervisor of doctoral candidates at Research School of Southeast Asian Studies in Xiamen University. The book represents his new contribution to safeguarding China’s territorial sovereignty over the South China Sea and facilitating a peaceful solution to conflicts over the area.

The book is divided into eleven chapters with 164 thousand characters. The eleven chapters feature: current conflicts of sovereignty over the South China Sea; trends in studies on sovereignty over the South China Sea in the 21st century; the origin, evolution, and current situation of China’s disjointed boundaries in the South China Sea; boundaries in the Nansha Islands and adjacent waters claimed by Vietnam; boundaries in the Nansha Islands and adjacent waters claimed by the Philippines; boundaries in the Nansha Islands and adjacent waters claimed by Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei; the Meiji Jiao Incident; the Philippine military’s modernization drive after the Meiji Jiao Incident and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States; Philippine activities on Huangyan Island in recent years; the Nansha Islands on The Sailing Charts of Zheng He and in Chinese historical books; and the development of oil resources around the Nansha Islands and prospects for the settlement of the dispute.

The research progress represented by this book reflects the author’s profound in-depth study of the issues surrounding the South China Sea and elevates the author to the leading position in this field both at home and abroad. The book addresses various points that we should pay attention to.

First, in accordance with basic theories of international law and based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the author’s research covers issues of border demarcation of the exclusive economic zones and continental shelves of the countries bordering the South China Sea. The research shows, and the book demonstrates, our country’s sovereignty over the South China Sea; it refutes the wrong arguments and claims made by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and other countries; it works to safeguard our country’s territorial sovereignty over the South China Sea and to protect our country’s maritime rights and interests.

Second, basing his research on historical documentation and theories de jure, the author analyzes the boundaries claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, bringing us clear knowledge of their claims and providing the relevant government departments with an important foundation upon which to seek countermeasures and devise relevant policies.

Third, the book has a large number of charts and diagrams, which adds a great deal of value. Thanks to these charts and diagrams, readers and policy makers in our government will gain a clear and visible knowledge of boundaries in the Nansha Islands and adjacent waters claimed by other countries. In addition, the charts and diagrams make the research results more precise and scientific.

Fourth, issues relating to the conflict between China and the Philippines are the topic of four of the eleven chapters, in which the author’s arguments and analysis indicate his unique perspective and his depth of knowledge and research. In these four chapters, the author summarizes and comments on the process, purpose, and conceivable excuses for the Meiji Jiao Incident provoked by the Philippines, as well as for the modernization of the Philippine military after the Incident and the military cooperation between the Philippines and the United States, after which the Philippines extended the controversial boundary to the north and triggered the Huangyan Island Incident. The author refutes and criticizes some wrong arguments, such as “Huangyan Island is within the area of the Philippine exclusive economic zone” and “Huangyan Island is in the neighborhood of the Philippines.”

Fifth, the author particularly emphasizes the origin, evolution, and current situation of our country’s disjointed boundaries in the South China Sea. As we all know, in 1935, the Chinese government claimed its area of sovereignty in the South China Sea by publicizing the names of its islands and reefs; in 1947, the Department of Regions in the Ministry of Civil Affairs demarcated the territory of the Nanhai Islands and reefs and promulgated eleven disjointed boundaries; in 1953, the Chinese government converted the eleven boundaries into nine. The Chinese government demarcated the baseline of the territorial sea of the Xisha Islands which lie in the South China Sea with straight lines in 1996. The author associates the issue of the boundary of the South China Sea with the demarcation of the baseline of the Xisha Islands, thus connecting the past to the present. By so doing, he offers vindication and historical and legal analysis for China’s demarcation of the baseline of the Xisha Islands. One difficulty with research on the conflict in the South China Sea is how to combine evidence of our country’s historical activity in the South China Sea with modern international law. In this respect, Professor Li has undoubtedly made a valuable exploration.

Sixth, against the backdrop of energy supplies becoming more and more critical for China, the author discusses the feasibility of common development of South China Sea oil resources by China and other adjacent countries. The book is therefore of practical significance in that it provides useful reference for the departments concerned when they make policy on the South China Sea or try to resolve the problem of demarcation.

Seventh, the author did particular research on the Nansha Islands vis-à-vis The Sailing Charts of Zheng He and arrived at the conclusion that Zheng He’s seven voyages at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty gained detailed knowledge about the locations and areas of these islands and documented them accordingly on the charts. Between Hainan Island and Cu Lao Re Island of Vietnam, to the east of Wuzhu Zhou east of Shangchuan Island in Guangdong Province and to the east of Dazhou Island southeast of Wanzhou of Hainan Island, The Sailing Charts of Zheng He clearly mark the islands of Shixing Shitang, Shitang, and Wansheng Shitang Yu. These refer to the Zhongsha Islands in the Nansha Islands, the Yungle Islands, and the Shiuande Islands in the Xisha Islands, respectively. These charts are fully consistent with later records. The author goes on to discuss the relevant Qing Dynasty accounts and concludes that the Nansha Islands were first discovered and controlled by the Chinese people and that they have always been an inseparable part of China.

In conclusion, the book is worth reading for the relevant Chinese government departments, for academic researchers, and for other Chinese people who care about our country’s sovereignty over the South China Sea. If I have to point out a weakness of the book, I would suggest that the sequence of chapters could be rearranged. However, this weakness will never overshadow the book’s academic achievements.

Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia Issue 10 (August 2008)