Sharing the Resources of the South China Sea

'From an international law perspective, chapter III of the book under review is one of its most interesting parts. The first part of chapter III analyzes the legal merits of the claims of the states involved to the Spratly Islands and the second part looks at the rules of international law applicable to the delimitation of maritime zones in the area of the Spratly Islands. Although this part of the book is mostly intended to set the stage for the analysis of the various options for cooperative arrangements, its importance should not be underestimated. The authors note that as 'the principles of international law may play a key role in resolving these disputes, it is useful to sort out the issues so that the strengths and weaknesses of the claims under international law can be understood'.'
Alex G. Oude Elferink, Netherlands International Law Review, 1999.

I.Introductory Overview. II. The Regional Political Context of the Problem. III. Analyzing the South China Sea Claims Under International Law. IV. The Political Dimensions of the Disputes. V. Approaches and Half-Measures. VI. The Danger of the Status Quo. VII. The Allocation Option. VIII. The Regional Multilateral Cooperative Regime Option: Managed Sharing of a Regional Commons. IX. An Ideal Maritime Regime. Appendix 1: Descriptions of Spratly Features. Appendix 2: Proposals for Cooperation Emanating from the South China Sea Dialogue. List of Figures. List of Tables. List of Plates. Index. About the Authors.