Resolve South China Sea Disputes About Legal Issues And "putting Aside Disputes And Jointly Develop Strategic Thinking

The archipelagoes in the South China Sea have been part of China's sovereign territory since ancient, and China has indisputable sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea, including the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters. Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, with the exploitation and development of marine resources in the South China Sea and the dramatic changes in the regime of the international law of the sea brought by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the periphery countries have been occupying some islets and reefs, dividing up sea areas and exploiting marine resources one after another. Besides, some non-regional countries such as the USA, Japan, India and so on, have been involved in the South China Sea disputes for the sake of their own interests and in view of Asian and Pacific Strategy. The South China Sea disputes are currently the matter of marine rights in relation to the most countries and with the most complicated situation in the world.Taking advantage of working practice in the diplomatic career, the author introduces the origin and current situation of the South China Sea disputes, discusses China's indisputable sovereignty over the archipelagoes in the South China Sea in terms of historic rights and international law, and makes a detail analysis of the law claims of all the claimants and the stand of non-regional countries, especially the USA. On that basis, the author discusses the rationality and restraint of the strategic thought of"shelving disputes and carrying out joint development", introduces the cooperation process of China with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and all the periphery countries. Finally, the author points out that"joint development"should be the correct direction to solve the South China Sea disputes and throws out some functional countermeasures and suggestions as well.