Assert the South China Sea's History, Defend China's Sovereignty

Professor Anthony Carty, a British international law expert, spent more than ten years reviewing the national archives of France, Britain, the United States and other countries on the ownership of the South China Sea Islands since the late 19th century. Based on history and legal principles, he clarified the historical changes and sovereignty of the South China Sea Islands. He wrote the book "History and Sovereignty of the South China Sea" in two parts: "Historical Ownership Archives of the South China Sea Islands: Spratly Islands" and "British and French Archives on Ownership of the Xisha Islands from 1900 to 1975". This book "in the most complete historical narrative form possible" clearly shows that the sovereignty of the South China Sea Islands should belong to China, "China has irrefutable sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands", and "the claims of other countries are dishonest, so accusing China is even more absurd", which is also a basic fact recognized by Western countries. However, no domestic experts have yet explained the history and sovereignty of the South China Sea in such a comprehensive, objective and rational way.

China has been actively promoting the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, hoping to resolve the South China Sea issue in a peaceful and negotiated manner. For China, the South China Sea is not only a "natural barrier" for national security, an important carrier for building a maritime power and the "Maritime Silk Road" in the 21st century, but also an important outlet to the sea, a strategic channel, and a future energy connection area and resource base. Due to factors such as geopolitics, resource competition, the inherent defects of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, colonialism and great power hegemony, disputes over the South China Sea have grown from nothing to something, from small to large, and are becoming increasingly fierce. British geopolitical scientist Mackinder called the Eurasian continent the "heart" of the world, and further pointed out that "whoever controls Eastern Europe can control the heart of the continent; whoever controls the heart of the continent can control the world island (Eurasia); whoever controls the world island can control the entire world." The South China Sea connects the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, and is regarded by geopolitical scientists as the "Mediterranean Sea of Asia" and is located in the "heart" of the world's oceans. In a sense, "whoever controls the South China Sea can control the global oceans." According to statistics, about 50,000 merchant ships and nearly 50% of oil tankers pass through the South China Sea every year. 80% of China's foreign trade is now completed through the ocean, and 80% of maritime trade passes through the South China Sea. China's imported crude oil from the Middle East and Africa all comes from the South China Sea. Although China's energy import channels are now diversified, most of China's crude oil still passes through the South China Sea. The route through the Strait of Malacca into the South China Sea accounts for more than 60% of China's total oil imports. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union competed to maintain a military presence in the South China Sea. The United States did not leave the Subic Bay Naval Base until 1991, and Russia left Cam Ranh Bay in 2002. Now the United States has returned to the Asia-Pacific region. As of February 2024, the Philippines has opened up access to nine military bases to the US military. Among them, the United States has deployed the first medium-range missile system in the "Indo-Pacific region" at the Camilo Osias Naval Base in the north of Luzon Island in the Philippines, attempting to deter China; Russia is also trying to return to the Asia-Pacific region and return to Vietnam's Cam Ranh Bay. Therefore, geopolitical factors are one of the important reasons for the South China Sea issue.

Historically, the Western colonial powers of Britain, Germany and France have successively entered the South China Sea. However, it is mainly France that has had a substantial impact on the South China Sea issue. In 1933, France occupied nine small islands in the Nansha area, which is the famous "Nine Small Islands Incident". In 1939, Japan occupied Hainan Island, and later controlled the Xisha Islands and the Nansha Islands (mainly Taiping Island in the Nansha Islands). After completing the actual control of the Xisha Islands and the Nansha Islands, Japan collectively referred to some islands and reefs in the Nansha Islands that it illegally occupied as the "New Nansha Islands" and placed them under the jurisdiction of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. In 1945, after Japan was defeated and surrendered, China sent warships to take over the Xisha Islands and the Nansha Islands in accordance with the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. However, Vietnam now claims to have "inherited" the Nansha Islands occupied by France at that time, and believes that after France withdrew from the Indochina Peninsula in accordance with the 1954 Geneva Agreement, it handed over the Nansha Islands controlled at that time to the South Vietnamese regime. Therefore, after the unification of North and South Korea in 1975, this became Vietnam's right, and it therefore claimed sovereignty over the entire Nansha Islands and Xisha Islands. The Philippines believes that according to the relevant provisions of the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, Japan gave up its sovereignty over the Nansha Islands, but it did not specify who would take over, so the Philippines obtained sovereignty over the "unowned land" of the Nansha Islands based on the principles of "discovery" and "first occupation". Therefore, it can be seen that colonial aggression is also an important cause of the South China Sea issue.

After the South China Sea became one of the main battlefields of the Sino-US game, the surrounding small shrimps have been trying to encroach on our maritime territory. The diplomatic concept of "setting aside disputes and jointly developing" is no longer in line with the identity of the rising China. We must clearly safeguard our fundamental interests and never allow anyone to steal an inch of our sea area. We must take back the islands and reefs that have long been illegally occupied by other countries. Especially with the support of the United States, the Philippines and Vietnam continue to create trouble and repeatedly stir up trouble in the South China Sea. Our Buddhist state can only make these ungrateful small countries maliciously provoke, get carried away, distort the facts at will, and do their best to slander and hype us, causing trouble and obstruction for us, and cooperating with the US Indo-Pacific strategy. Serious protests and strong condemnations alone can no longer calm the situation. Only precise counterattacks can deter and knock these American "vanguards" with a majestic attitude. While hard power is demonstrated, soft power is even more powerful. Foreign Minister Wang Yi refuted the fallacy that China is aggressive in the South China Sea, saying: "The South China Sea Islands have always been Chinese territory. When China was managing the South China Sea islands, the surrounding countries had not yet been established." "China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea have sufficient historical and legal basis." In a word, "History and Sovereignty of the South China Sea" can provide us with more convincing historical materials and a more complete chain of evidence.