Recently, the Philippines has made frequent provocations on the South China Sea issue. In this regard, the Chinese side clearly pointed out that Nanhai Zhudao has been China's territory since ancient times, and China has indisputable sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao. Anthony Carty, a British international law scholar and invited visiting professor at Peking University's Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, recently published a book entitled "The History and Sovereignty of the South China Sea", which has attracted attention. The reporter of "Blue Room Observation" of the main station interviewed Anthony Carty to sort out the sovereignty issues in the South China Sea from the perspectives of history and legal theory.
The Philippines does not have any credible claim to the Spratly Islands
Professor Kati's research on the South China Sea began in 2009, when it heated up as the dispute parties intensified their abusive provocations.
After returning to China during the summer vacation, Carty, who was teaching in Hong Kong, discovered a large number of archives directly related to the ownership of the Spratly Islands at the British National Archives, and then took the South China Sea issue as an important research work, and traveled to the archives of Britain, France, and the United States, consulting a large number of archives on the ownership of Nanhai Zhudao since the end of the 19th century.
Kati told Blue Room Watch that China's sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao has a full historical and legal basis, and the Philippines does not have any credible claim to the Spratly Islands. As an example, he said, the archives of the British and French foreign ministries showed that their legal advisers had repeatedly discussed issues related to the Spratly and Paracel Islands more than 100 years ago.
Based on Western standards of international law, the legal advisers of the British and French Foreign Ministries have come to the unanimous conclusion that the islands belong to China. Moreover, the historical archives of the United States, Britain and France all clearly show that the Filipinos have no claim to these islands in the South China Sea.
In a 1974 official memorandum from the legal department, Britain came to the conclusion that the Spratly Islands belonged to China, no longer to France, and never to the Philippines. This position was endorsed by the British Cabinet's Committee on Defence and Overseas Policy. In addition, the U.S. State Department archives made public in 1956 also pointed out that the Americans did not take a position on any claims of the Philippines, but they believed that it was in the strategic interest of the United States to encourage Filipinos to make claims, so they encouraged the Philippines to do so.
The so-called South China Sea arbitration award is only to satisfy the selfish desires of certain countries
Recently, the Philippines has frequently referred to the so-called South China Sea arbitration award as the legal basis for a series of unilateral infringements. And the statement issued at last week's trilateral summit between the United States, Japan and the Philippines called on China to abide by the so-called ruling.
Kati pointed out that some countries outside the region ignore history and facts and encourage the Philippines to make territorial claims, which is full of considerations for their own strategic interests. The so-called award in the South China Sea arbitration case is precisely the selfish desire of certain countries in the name of international law.
The so-called South China Sea arbitration ruling upheld the Philippine claim, saying that the islands have no right to any maritime zone, so if the Philippines claims a 200-nautical-mile EEZ from its archipelago baseline, it will not overlap much with China's claims in the South China Sea.
Then Vietnam would move east from the other side of the South China Sea, and they would cut off China in the far north of the South China Sea. This is very beneficial for the United States, since these countries are completely dependent on American military support at sea. This basically means that the United States will control two-thirds of the South China Sea.
The Philippine side staged a farce in the South China Sea, and it pale in the face of history
As an international law scholar, Katy has spent several years searching the archives of Britain, France and other Western countries to sort out and analyze these archives in the form of the most complete historical narrative possible, and he clearly stated in his book "History and Sovereignty in the South China Sea" that China's position on the South China Sea issue is reasonable, and the recent South China Sea farce has been staged frequently staged by the Philippine side at the instigation of foreign forces. China should continue to defend its legitimate rights and interests in the South China Sea and inject positive forces into maintaining regional peace and stability.
Editor: Nie Yue
Source: CCTV news client