The History and Sovereignty of the South China Sea Islands clarifies the sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands with irrefutable facts.
The English edition of The History and Sovereignty of the South China Sea Islands was released by New Star Press under China International Communications Group at the 2024 Beijing International Book Fair on June 20. Prior to this, the Chinese version of the book, also published by New Star Press, had attracted wide attention from the international community.
This book is of great significance because the archival files of Western countries lay out the evidence of China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands. It has been reviewed by readers on several e-commerce platforms with high recommendations and has been added to the bestseller list of current affair books.
The author, Anthony Carty, is a British scholar on international law. For more than a decade, Carty extensively researched the national archives of the U.K., France, and the U.S. on the sovereignty of the South China Sea Islands since the end of the 19th century. His findings clarify who has sovereignty over them on the basis of history and legal theory, and also provide important historical materials and international legal evidence.
In the foreword, Carty writes, “It is nonetheless the clear intention of these two pieces of academic writings to suggest that China’s stance with respect to the fierce controversies raging around the South China Seas would have appeared reasonable to British and French Foreign Ministry officials during the period covered by these archival researches.”
According to the author, the book is an objective and neutral study that objectively presents the historical archives as they are, and he is glad that it has had an academic impact.
Anthony Carty (center), Zhou Jian, former representative of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China (left), and Ma Rujun, head of New Star Press, at the release of Carty’s book at the 2024 Beijing International Book Fair on July 20, 2024. New Star Press
The Root Cause
During recent years, the Philippines has made frequent provocations on the South China Sea issue. In response, the Chinese side clearly stated that the South China Sea Islands have been China's territory since ancient times, and China has indisputable sovereignty over these islands.
In this context, the first 3,000 copies of Carty’s book sold like wildfire, and an additional 10,000 copies were printed. In fact, for professional academic works, 3,000 copies is a significant amount. After reading the book, readers commented that “Those who are concerned about the South China Sea issue should read this book” and “A real scholar restores the truth of historical events and tells the world.”
The book says Western countries long recognized China's sovereignty in the South China Sea, but for ulterior geopolitical purposes, made a series of interventions that jeopardize peace and stability in that region. These illegal activities not only seriously undermine China's sovereignty and related rights and interests in the area, but also peace and stability there.
Carty points out that the South China Sea issue should be attributed to the Western colonizers in the 1930s who broke into Chinese territory. The U.S. diplomatic archives prove that in the 1940s, the U.S. Government deliberately ignored its hydrographic records and the suggestions of international law experts, and was more concerned about excluding China from the two groups of islands (Xisha and Nansha).
Carty obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in 1973 and has taught at many leading universities. He has published a number of influential papers in the field of international law, and his books have been published by renowned publishing houses such as Cambridge University Press. His study of the South China Sea issue began in 2009 when it became a hot topic because of related disputes. He found a large number of records in the National Archives of the U.K. that were directly related to the ownership of the Nansha Islands. Since then, he has taken a keen interest in the South China Sea issue, visiting the national archives in several countries including France, and the U.S. He looked up a large number of archives on the sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands covering the last 120 years.
The book clarifies the sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands and puts forward a number of irrefutable conclusions. For example, China was the first country to discover, name, develop, and utilize the South China Sea Islands and related waters, and China has historical rights in the South China Sea. In fact, the Western countries as well as other regional countries involved in the dispute, such as Vietnam, previously recognized this fact. China's claims in the South China Sea are not only based on history but are also in line with international law, and the historical archives in the U.K., France, and the U.S. clearly state that the Philippines does not have any credible claims to the Nansha Islands.
Waiting for a Response
“The U.K., France, and the U.S. have been involved in territorial disputes over the South China Sea Islands in different historical periods, and their diplomatic archives record their internal considerations, relevant policies, and legal positions on historical events. This is of great significance for clarifying the facts, understanding the context of the territorial dispute over the islands, and reconstructing historical events from another side,” said Zhou Jian, former representative of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.
The book has received widespread international attention. According to New Star Press, since the Chinese version was published, various reports on the book’s content have been viewed more than 10 million times on media platforms around the world. It has been well received by academics, media, and readers at home and abroad, and the evaluations of many foreign media professionals and experts have won wide attention abroad.
According to Urusov Volodymyr, associate professor at the faculty of history, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, the book is of great significance to China's efforts to resolve disputes in the South China Sea, stabilize the local situation, and implement the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea region with relevant countries. It should also be noted that China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands, a conclusion that is well demonstrated in British documents.
Anatol Caciuc, a journalist at TeleRadio Moldova, believes that based on the research results of the author, people will be able to better understand the history of the South China Sea and China's position based on its historical context. The countries involved in this dispute must not undermine China's territorial sovereignty and maritime interests in the region, let alone use foreign forces to interfere in China’s development of marine resources in the South China Sea.
“I’m very glad that this book has received such a response, especially in China. I'm still waiting for responses from more Western countries, especially scholars from the U.K., France, and the U.S.,” said Carty. “Many people agree with the academic value of the book. Some experts who are more anti-China on the South China Sea issue also highly appreciate the academic value of the book.”
According to Zhou Jian, the diplomatic archives covered in this book involve the basic facts of the South China Sea Islands in different historical periods, both modern and contemporary. The book explains the understanding, policy, and legal stance of the U.K., France, and the U.S. on the territorial sovereignty issue of the South China Sea Islands. “The value of this book lies more in the historical information it discloses than in the author’s personal opinion,” Zhou said.
“I was not commissioned by the Chinese authorities to conduct this research, and the research was conducted completely independently. I am not ‘speaking for China’, nor have I given legal conclusions or opinions. I am just faithfully restoring historical archives and facts,” Carty said.
Anthony Carty talks about the process of writing his book at its release at the 2024 Beijing International Book Fair on July 20, 2024. Xu Hao
More Cooperation
According to New Star Press, the French version of the book will also be published this year.
Ma Rujun, president of New Star Press, remembers meeting with Carty at a café in 2018. At that time, an editor of the company had read a paper written by a British scholar published in the Jus Gentium: Journal of International Legal History, which explained the ins and outs of the South China Sea issue in great detail. Ma was keenly aware that publishing the work of an objective and neutral foreign scholar who utilized historical archives as a basis to talk about the South China Sea issue would be worthwhile but thought it would not sell well due to its heavy academic nature. At that time, Carty happened to be in Beijing. After getting in touch with him, Ma met him at a café near the press, and the two hit it off.
The first draft was soon completed, and as expected, the content was very academic. The publisher made suggestions to the author on how to make the content more readable for the general public, and Carty made revisions to the manuscript. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the publishing of the book. However, the extended period of time gave the publishers and authors more time to refine their manuscript and publication. "All the illustrations in the book were found by the editors of the press, which add a lot to the book!” Carty said appreciatively.
“We appreciate Professor Carty signing a contract with us for an international manuscript and hand over the publishing rights of this book to our press. After five years of efforts, the Chinese and English versions are now available, and other language versions will be published in the future,” said Ma.
Carty is very pleased with the publication of the book. “I am grateful for the efforts the press made in the publishing and translation of my book, especially printing it in multiple languages. I hope to have more cooperation and more results with the press in the future,” he said. 
XU HAO is a reporter with China Report.
