South China Sea Photo: VCG

After seven years of preparation, a new book titled History and facts of the South China Sea was launched in Beijing on Thursday. The launch ceremony was hosted by the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance (Huayang Center).

Wu Shicun, chairman of the Huayang Center and lead editor of the book, said at the ceremony that the book aims to restore the historical truth of the South China Sea and to refute Western fallacious claims, including allegations that China is "changing the status quo" in the region and doesn't abide by "international law," or that China's dotted line and the territorial sea baselines of Xisha Qundao constitute "excessive maritime claims."

Drawing on an extensive body of Chinese and foreign archival materials, the book substantiates a series of findings, including that Chinese people were active in the South China Sea as early as several centuries BCE and have been continuously present in the region. It also notes that successive Chinese governments exercised continuous jurisdiction over the region.

In 1946, Chinese forces reasserted sovereignty over the South China Sea islands by landing on and taking control of several islands and reefs from Japanese occupation, while implementing a series of measures to consolidate China's sovereign claims, according to the book.

By systematically examining the historical facts of the South China Sea from prehistoric times to the present, the book establishes a comprehensive and coherent chain of historical evidence demonstrating that China's sovereignty and rights in the South China Sea are indisputable.

"China's sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and its related rights and interests in the South China Sea were established through a long historical process, consistently upheld by successive Chinese governments, and widely recognized by the international community," Hu Wei, representative of boundary and ocean affairs of the Foreign Ministry of China, said at the book launch event.

Hu praised the book for its painstaking efforts to unravel historical facts, and underscored the importance of clarifying the origins of China's rights and tracing the roots of the disputes in the South China Sea, so as to provide a historical grounding to upholding sovereignty and maritime interests both now and in the future.

Participating diplomats, scholars and experts also discussed the book's significance in reshaping the South China Sea narrative and reawakening the international community's collective historical memory of the region.

Wu said the book marks only an initial step, adding that the next phase will be to publish an English edition in collaboration with influential Western publishers to reach a broader audience.