Key Evidence of China Having Sovereignty and Maritime Rights of the Islands and Reefs in the South China Sea

Li Guoqiang

Deputy Director of Research Center for Chinese Borderland History and Geography, CASS

70 years ago, according to the spirits of “the Cairo Declaration”, and “the Potsdam Proclamation”, the Chinese government recovered the Xisha Islands and the Nansha Islands. Some monuments were established and several guns were fired to claim sovereignty. After that, the Chinese government defined the maritime borders by surveying and mapping, deployed troops to garrison and patrol the islands, set up government organizations to strengthen administration, and officially named and defined “the Nine-dotted line”. Therefore, in the post-war international order, the Chinese government established “the South China Sea Order”. The core of this order is that China’s sovereignty, jurisdiction, and maritime rights of the South China Sea are clearly defined by “the Nine-dotted line”. This was no doubt a great action. It was an inevitable continuation and inheritance of history development that China had sovereignty and maritime rights of the islands in the South China Sea. And this right is conferred by the post-war international order.

Although some countries and the South China Sea arbitration case try to deny China’s sovereignty and relevant rights of the South China Sea, plenty of historical facts indisputably prove that China is the only owner of the South China Sea, and the islands in the South China Sea are China’s inherent territories.

Over two thousand years ago, during the Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty, the Chinese people already started to navigate and work in the South China Sea. They not only first discovered the islands in the South China Sea, but also got the preliminary knowledge of the geology, the hydrology, and the tide, etc. of the South China Sea. The “Yi Wuzhi”, which was written by Yang Fu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, recorded that our ancient people used “Qitou” to name the islands and reefs in the South China Sea, and “Zhanghai” to name the South China Sea.

During the Sui Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty, from 600 A.D. to 1000 A.D., there were plenty of Chinese documents, such as “Book of Sui”, “Tongdian”, and “Sea Routes from Guangzhou to Foreign Countries”, etc. which respectively recorded that our ancient people used “Qi Zhouyang”, “Shan Huzhou”, “Jiao Shishan”, and “Xiang Shi”, etc. to name the sea areas, islands and reefs in the South China Sea.

During the Song Dynasty, from 1000 A.D. to 1300 A.D., the Chinese people already got familiar with the islands and the sea areas in the South China Sea; therefore, the names of the islands and reefs in the South China Sea were gradually fixed, which were called “Shi Tang”, and “Changsha”. At present, “Song Huiyao” is the earliest historical document ever seen, which named the islands and reefs in the South China Sea as “Shitang”. “Qiong Guanzhi”, which was written in the 13th century, first named the islands and reefs in the South China Sea as “Qian Lichangsha”, and “Wan Lishitang”. During the Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, and Qing Dynasty, “Shitang”, and “Changsha” already became common names of the islands in the South China Sea, and were widely used. And there were various documents and maps recording these names, which amounted to hundreds of times.

Meanwhile, since the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, our country started the government administration of the islands in the South China Sea. According to the record of “Zhu Fanzhi” which was written by Zhao Rushi of the Song Dynasty, in 789 A.D. (the fifth year of Zhen Yuan of the Tang Dynasty), the islands in the South China Sea were under the jurisdiction of Si Zhoujun of Hainan. This is the earliest historical document ever seen, which clearly defined the administrative jurisdiction of the islands in the South China Sea. During Song Dynasty, the islands in the South China Sea were continually under the jurisdiction scope of Guangnan Xi Lu Qiong Guan Ji Yang Jun.

The most important measure for the Song government to administer the islands in the South China Sea was the establishment of the ancient navy. Our country’s first official military book, “Wu Jing Zong Yao”, was written in 1040. It recorded that Emperor Taizong of Song established the ancient patrol navy in 971 A.D., which was responsible for patrolling and managing the South China Sea. Since then, the sea areas in the South China Sea were within the coastal defense range of the Chinese government.

During the Ming Dynasty in the 14th century, the facts that the South China Sea were under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government were still quite common in the documents and maps. The very famous “Navigation Map of Zheng He” was from the book “Wu Beizhi”, which was written by Mao Yuanyi in 1621. This map not only continued to incorporate the islands in the South China Sea into our country’s map, but also clearly marked that the islands in the South China Sea were under the jurisdiction of Guangdong. And similar records also appeared in plenty of official documents and maps of the Qing Dynasty after the 17th century, such as “General Records of Guangdong” of 1676, “Maps of Qing Zhi Sheng Fen” of 1724, “Qin Ding Gu Jin Tu Shu Ji Cheng (Book Collections Made under Imperial Orders )” of 1725, “Da Qing Wan Nian Yi Tong Tian Xia Quan Tu (Complete map of the Qing Dynasty)” of 1767, and “Qiong Zhou Fu Zhi (Records of Qingzhou Government)” of 1841, etc. In “Yang Fang Ji Yao (Summary of Maritime Defense)” written by Yan Ruyi in 1838, and “Fang Hai Ji Yao (Summary of Coastal Defense)” written by Yu Changhui, the islands in the South China Sea were ranked as strategic points of coastal defense. It is worth noticing that the “Qing Hui Fu Zhou Xian Ting Zong Tu (General Maps of Regional and Local Governments Drawn by the Qing Government)” printed in 1800, and “Da Qing Tian Xia Zhong Hua Ge Sheng Zhou Xian Ting Di Li Quan Tu (General Geological Map of the Qing Dynasty)” published in 1904, respectively used red square legends and double-line square basket legends to indicate that the islands in the South China Sea were one administrative unit at Fu level under the jurisdiction of Guangdong province.

In fact, during the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, it was already an established system for the government to incorporate the islands in the South China Sea into coastal defense range, and exercise military duties and rights in the South China Sea. The Sea Area Patrol Officer and the Hainan Safeguard were established in the Ming Dynasty. The Ya Zhou Ancient Navy Camp was established in the Qing Dynasty, which was responsible for the military patrol of the sea areas in the South China Sea. This historical fact was clearly recorded in the history books, such as “General Records of Guangdong”, and “Records of Qiongshan County” of the Ming Dynasty, “Records of Quanzhou Government”, “Records of Tong’an County”, “Records of Qiongzhou Government”, and “Records of Yazhou” of the Qing Dynasty.

In 1909, Li Zhun, the ancient navy commander of Guangdong, was ordered to patrol the Xisha Islands. This was an important practice that the Qing government exercised sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea.

During the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, the important evidence was the “Geng Lu Bu”, which was able to prove that the Chinese people managed, developed and utilized the South China Sea. The “Geng Lu Bu” was a navigation guidebook, which was used by the fishermen of the South China Sea to facilitate their fishing activity in that sea area. Up to now, more than 30 manuscripts of the “Geng Lu Bu” are discovered. These books record that our fishermen departed from Qinglan port in Wenchang of Hainan, and Tanmen port in Qionghai, etc., and went to the Xisha Islands and the Nansha Islands for navigation and production activity. And they altogether recorded more than 200 operational lines, and the fishermen named 120 reefs and islands in the South China Sea. This precious document fully shows that the areas, which are managed and developed by our people, have completely covered the major islands and reefs, and sea areas of the South China Sea today. This precious document fully shows that the sea areas around the Xisha Islands and the Nansha Islands are our traditional fishing grounds which are managed and utilized by our country and people from generation to generation. This also fully shows that China is entitled to the historical rights in the South China Sea.

Plenty of archaeological discoveries are important proofs to show that the Chinese people have developed and managed the South China Sea. Since the 1970s, our State Bureau of Cultural Relics, and the cultural relics departments of Guangdong and Hainan successively organized archaeological investigation and excavation for many times, and they discovered a lot of historical traces and remains of different historical periods, which included potteries, porcelains, copper wares, ironwares, stonewares, coins, ivories, stone carvings, and various kinds of temples, tombstones, wells, thatched cottages, and stone tablets, etc. These historical traces and remains reflect the complete historical process that the Chinese people have explored, developed, and managed the South China Sea. Therefore, the South China Sea lives up to the name of “the sea of the Chinese people’s forefathers”. This historical process also has laid the social foundation for the successive Chinese governments to govern and administer the South China Sea.

Up to now, the archives of the Nationalist Government, which are kept in the main land and Taiwan, clearly record the modern Chinese government’s administration of the islands in the South China Sea.

Such as, in 1933, the French colonists occupied the islands and reefs in the South China Sea, and provoked the “Nine Island Event”. This illegal action caused strong opposition and boycott from the Chinese government and all social communities. On July 26, 1933, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nationalist Government sent a telegram to the French government to lodge a serious protest, and pointed out that “there are only Chinese fishermen living on the Nansha Islands, and the Chinese territory is clearly defined.”

Another example, in December, 1934 and March, 1935, the Land and Maritime Map Review Committee successively convened the No. 25th and the No. 29th meeting, and specially studied the names and mapping of the islands in the South China Sea. And in January and April, the committee promulgated “the Chinese-English Geographic Names Comparison Table of the Islands in the South China Sea” and “The Maps of the Islands in the South China Sea”. This was the first time for China to officially “standardize” the names of the islands in the South China Sea, and publish special maps of the islands in the South China Sea.

After the WWII, our government took over and recovered the sovereignty of the Xisha Islands, and the Nansha Islands, and kept complete records of the process. On September 2, 1946, after the discussion of the Interior Ministry, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, and the Defense Ministry, the instructions for recovering the Xisha Islands, and the Nansha Islands were promulgated on behalf of the Nationalist Government. On February 28, 1947, after the receiving work, the Nationalist Government promulgated an official report to publicize the completion of the receiving work. In 1947, in an official letter from the Interior Ministry of the Nationalist Government to the provincial government of Guangdong, it clearly pointed out that our territory range in the South China Sea reached to Zengmu Reef; after the Interior Ministry naming the islands, the sovereignty of the Xisha Islands would be made known to the national public; meanwhile, it indicated that the General Headquarters of the Navy should send as much troops as possible to garrison each islands. In November 1947, the Nationalist Government reexamined and approved the names of the islands and reefs in the South China Sea, and promulgated “The Old and New Geographic Names Comparison Table of the Islands in the South China Sea”. In February 1948, the Interior Ministry promulgated “The Location Map of the Islands in the South China Sea”, which completely marked the names of the islands in the South China Sea and the Nine-dotted line.

The historical documents and maps, government archives and archeological data provide us with plenty of key evidence to demonstrate our sovereignty and maritime rights of the islands in the South China Sea. These pieces of historical evidence are not only diverse, official, and authoritative, but also coherent, stable and inheritable. And this kind of historical evidence is not possessed by any neighboring countries. The facts show that China’s sovereignty and maritime rights of the islands in the South China Sea, and their nearby sea areas, is effective and legal, which is originated from more than two thousand years of management and administration. In the process of the long history development, there is no country to raise any objection against China on the issue. And more than two thousand years of management and administration of the islands in the South China Sea by China completely confirm to the basic principles of the international law concerning the obtaining of national territory.

Therefore, the historical facts are valid that China has sovereignty and maritime rights of the islands in the South China Sea and their nearby sea areas. The historical trace is clear, the historical evidence is sufficient, and the historical status is legal. Therefore, nobody can deny this fact.