THE English edition of The History and Sovereigntyof the South China Sea Islands was releasedby New Star Press under China InternationalCommunications Group at the 2024Beijing International Book Fair on June 20. Prior tothis， the Chinese version of the book， also publishedby New Star Press， had attracted wide attention fromthe international community.

This book is of great significance because the archivalfiles of Western countries lay out the evidenceof China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands.It has been reviewed by readers on several ecommerceplatforms with high recommendationsand has been added to the bestseller list of currentaffair books.

The author， Anthony Carty， is a British scholar oninternational law. For more than a decade， Carty extensivelyresearched the national archives of the U.K.，F(xiàn)rance， and the U.S. on the sovereignty of the SouthChina Sea Islands since the end of the 19th century.His findings clarify who has sovereignty over them onthe basis of history and legal theory， and also provideimportant historical materials and international legalevidence.

In the foreword， Carty writes， “It is nonetheless theclear intention of these two pieces of academic writingsto suggest that China’s stance with respect to thefierce controversies raging around the South ChinaSeas would have appeared reasonable to British andFrench Foreign Ministry officials during the periodcovered by these archival researches.”

According to the author， the book is an objectiveand neutral study that objectively presents the historicalarchives as they are， and he is glad that it hashad an academic impact.

The Root Cause

During recent years， the Philippines has madefrequent provocations on the South China Sea issue.In response， the Chinese side clearly stated that theSouth China Sea Islands have been China's territorysince ancient times， and China has indisputable sovereigntyover these islands.

In this context， the first 3，000 copies of Carty’sbook sold like wildfire， and an additional 10，000 copieswere printed. In fact， for professional academicworks， 3，000 copies is a significant amount. Afterreading the book， readers commented that “Thosewho are concerned about the South China Sea issueshould read this book” and “A real scholar restoresthe truth of historical events and tells the world.”

The book says Western countries long recognizedChina's sovereignty in the South China Sea， but forulterior geopolitical purposes， made a series of interventionsthat jeopardize peace and stability inthat region. These illegal activities not only seriouslyundermine China's sovereignty and related rightsand interests in the area， but also peace and stabilitythere.

Carty points out that the South China Sea issueshould be attributed to the Western colonizers inthe 1930s who broke into Chinese territory. The U.S.diplomatic archives prove that in the 1940s， the U.S.Government deliberately ignored its hydrographicrecords and the suggestions of international lawexperts， and was more concerned about excludingChina from the two groups of islands （Xisha andNansha）.

Carty obtained his Ph.D. from the University ofCambridge in 1973 and has taught at many leadinguniversities. He has published a number of influentialpapers in the field of international law， and his bookshave been published by renowned publishing housessuch as Cambridge University Press. His study of theSouth China Sea issue began in 2009 when it becamea hot topic because of related disputes. He found alarge number of records in the National Archives ofthe U.K. that were directly related to the ownership ofthe Nansha Islands. Since then， he has taken a keeninterest in the South China Sea issue， visiting the nationalarchives in several countries including France，and the U.S. He looked up a large number of archiveson the sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands"covering the last 120 years.

The book clarifies the sovereignty over the SouthChina Sea Islands and puts forward a number of irrefutableconclusions. For example， China was thefirst country to discover， name， develop， and utilizethe South China Sea Islands and related waters， andChina has historical rights in the South China Sea. Infact， the Western countries as well as other regionalcountries involved in the dispute， such as Vietnam，previously recognized this fact. China's claims in theSouth China Sea are not only based on history but arealso in line with international law， and the historicalarchives in the U.K.， France， and the U.S. clearly statethat the Philippines does not have any credible claimsto the Nansha Islands.

Waiting for a Response

“The U.K.， France， and the U.S. have been involvedin territorial disputes over the South China Sea Islandsin different historical periods， and their diplomaticarchives record their internal considerations， relevantpolicies， and legal positions on historical events. Thisis of great significance for clarifying the facts， understandingthe context of the territorial dispute overthe islands， and reconstructing historical events fromanother side，” said Zhou Jian， former representative ofthe Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of theMinistry of Foreign Affairs of China.

The book has received widespread internationalattention. According to New Star Press， since theChinese version was published， various reports onthe book’s content have been viewed more than 10million times on media platforms around the world.It has been well received by academics， media， andreaders at home and abroad， and the evaluations ofmany foreign media professionals and experts havewon wide attention abroad.

According to Urusov Volodymyr， associate professorat the faculty of history， Taras ShevchenkoNational University of Kyiv， the book is of great significanceto China's efforts to resolve disputes in theSouth China Sea， stabilize the local situation， andimplement the Code of Conduct in the South ChinaSea region with relevant countries. It should also benoted that China has indisputable sovereignty overthe South China Sea Islands， a conclusion that is welldemonstrated in British documents.

Anatol Caciuc， a journalist at TeleRadio Moldova，believes that based on the research results of theauthor， people will be able to better understand thehistory of the South China Sea and China's positionbased on its historical context. The countriesinvolved in this dispute must not undermine China'sterritorial sovereignty and maritime interests in theregion， let alone use foreign forces to interfere in China’sdevelopment of marine resources in the SouthChina Sea.

“I’m very glad that this book has received sucha response， especially in China. I'm still waiting forresponses from more Western countries， especiallyscholars from the U.K.， France， and the U.S.，” saidCarty. “Many people agree with the academic valueof the book. Some experts who are more anti-Chinaon the South China Sea issue also highly appreciatethe academic value of the book.”

According to Zhou Jian， the diplomatic archivescovered in this book involve the basic facts of theSouth China Sea Islands in different historical periods，both modern and contemporary. The bookexplains the understanding， policy， and legal stanceof the U.K.， France， and the U.S. on the territorial sovereigntyissue of the South China Sea Islands. “Thevalue of this book lies more in the historical informationit discloses than in the author’s personal opinion，”Zhou said.

“I was not commissioned by the Chinese authoritiesto conduct this research， and the researchwas conducted completely independently. I am not‘speaking for China’， nor have I given legal conclusionsor opinions. I am just faithfully restoring historicalarchives and facts，” Carty said.

More Cooperation

According to New Star Press， the French versionof the book will also be published this year.

Ma Rujun， president of New Star Press， remembersmeeting with Carty at a café in 2018. At that time， aneditor of the company had read a paper written by aBritish scholar published in the Jus Gentium： Journalof International Legal History ， which explained theins and outs of the South China Sea issue in great detail.Ma was keenly aware that publishing the work ofan objective and neutral foreign scholar who utilizedhistorical archives as a basis to talk about the South"China Sea issue would be worthwhile but thought itwould not sell well due to its heavy academic nature.At that time， Carty happened to be in Beijing. Aftergetting in touch with him， Ma met him at a café nearthe press， and the two hit it off.

The first draft was soon completed， and as expected，the content was very academic. The publishermade suggestions to the author on how to make thecontent more readable for the general public， andCarty made revisions to the manuscript. Unfortunately，the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the publishingof the book. However， the extended period of time gavethe publishers and authors more time to refine theirmanuscript and publication. \"All the illustrations in thebook were found by the editors of the press， which adda lot to the book！” Carty said appreciatively.

“We appreciate Professor Carty signing a contractwith us for an international manuscript and handover the publishing rights of this book to our press.After five years of efforts， the Chinese and Englishversions are now available， and other language versionswill be published in the future，” said Ma.

Carty is very pleased with the publication of thebook. “I am grateful for the efforts the press made inthe publishing and translation of my book， especiallyprinting it in multiple languages. I hope to have morecooperation and more results with the press in thefuture，” he said.