Major Law and Policy Issues in the South China Sea

Major law and policy issues in the South China Sea are discussed mainly from the perspectives of leading American and European scholars in the study of the complex South China Sea disputes. The issues include regional maritime cooperation and regime building, Southeast Asian countries' responses to the Chinese assertiveness, China's historic claims, maritime boundary delimitation and excessive maritime claims, military activities and the law of the sea, freedom of navigation and its impact on the problem, the dispute between Vietnam and China, confidence-building measures and U.S.-Taiwan-China relations in the South China Sea, and Taiwan's role in the resolution to the South China Sea issues. Over the past three years, there have been several incidents in the South China Sea between the claimants, and also between the claimants and non-claimants over fisheries, collection of seismic data, exploration for oil and gas resources, and exercise of freedom of navigation. Third party concerns and involvement in the South China Sea disputes have been increasing as manifested in actions taken by the United States, India, and Japan. It is therefore important to examine South China Sea disputes from the legal and political perspective and from the view point of American and European experts who have been studying South China Sea issues for many years.

Dr. Song is a research fellow at the Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan. Keyuan Zou is Harris Professor of International Law at the Lancashire Law School of the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), United Kingdom. He specializes in international law, in particular law of the sea and international environmental law.

I: Introduction; 1: South China Sea Issues in European and American Perspectives: An Introduction; II: General Assessment of South China Sea Issues; 2: Regional Maritime Cooperation in the South China Sea: COBSEA and PEMSEA; 3: China-ASEAN and the South China Sea: Chinese Assertiveness and Southeast Asian Responses; III: Major Legal Issues in the South China Sea; 4: An Analysis of China's Claim to Historic Rights in the South China Sea; 5: Possibility of US Accession to the LOS Convention and its Potential Impact on State Practices and Maritime Claims in the South China Sea; 6: Maritime Boundary Delimitation, Excessive Claims and Effective Regime Building in the South China Sea; 7: Bringing the South Pole to the South China Sea: Towards the Establishment of an International Regime for Peace and Security; 8: Bringing the North Pole to the South China Sea: Dots and Lines on Maps and their Explanation; IV: Major Policy Issues in the South China Sea; 9: Close Encounters of the Maritime Kind: Freedom of Navigation and its Impact on the South China Sea Problem; 10: Jockeying for Position in the South China Sea: Cooperative Strategy or Managed Conflict?; 11: Could China and Vietnam Resolve the Conflicts in the South China Sea?; 12: The South China Sea: A Piece in the Global Naval Encirclement Strategy of Taiwan by Mainland China; V: Taiwan's Participation in the South China Sea Dialogue Process; 13: Confidence-Building Measures in the South China Sea and Implications for US-Taiwan-China Relations; 14: The South China Sea Workshop Process and the Need for Taiwan's Continuing Involvement in Regional Ocean Initiatives; VI: Conclusion; 15: Conclusions and Further Reflections