Full coverage: South China Sea Is Indisputable Part of China

By Wang Xiaoxuan, director of Naval Military Academic Institute

The nine-dashed line was first discovered and owned by China. It is a maritime boundary line formed after China’s long-term jurisdiction and development of the South China Sea islands. 

China holds sovereignty and jurisdiction rights within the nine-dashed line. Other countries’ ships have the right to freedom of navigation and their aircraft enjoy rights to fly over the territory. 

There had been no problem with the nine-dashed line before the 1970s, but with Vietnam, the Philippines and other countries pushing further territorial claims, more governments are beginning to deny legitimacy of the nine-dashed line. 

The United States and other countries have intervened in the South China Sea issue; using the so-called freedom of navigation in the South China Sea to deny the nine-dashed line to disregard China’s territorial rights.

Denying nine-dashed line shows US holds contempt for history and legal principles 

Many historical documents and cultural relics have proven that China has sovereignty over Xisha Islands during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.), and the latest records could be dated back to the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) in which the names - Xisha and Nansha Islands were listed. 

Later, the Song Dynasty (960-1279) started to take administrative and military jurisdiction over the South China Sea Islands and the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (1279-1911) have drawn them into a Chinese territory map. 

China has taken effective jurisdiction over the islands and its adjacent waters for the past 1,000 years, and the nine-dashed line is set to strengthen its jurisdiction. For a long time, the international community, including the US, had granted tacit approval of the islands to China. 

Maps and encyclopedias that have also been published in many countries, have declared the islands as Chinese territory. China's claims remain consistent with the spirit of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. 

The 15th article of the Convention clearly recognized that a country could have historic ownership over specific waters. For any country including China, it is a legitimate claim with ample evidence in accordance with the convention.

Any words and deeds denying the nine-dashed line is a contempt of historical facts and violation of international laws. 

Denying nine-dashed line exposes US’ tricky behavior    

Washington is denying the nine-dashed line to blockade the island chain, which had been proposed by Washington after World War II, to use some special Northwestern Pacific Ocean island group to block the Soviet Union and China and other socialist countries.  

On January 12, 1950, the then-US Secretary of State Dean Acheson declared the US defense circles in the Pacific started from the Aleutian Islands, Japan, Okinawa to the Philippines. 

On January 4, 1951, the then-US State Department adviser John Foster Dulles said the US defense area in the Pacific should range from Japan, Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, the Philippines to Australia. 

The then-US Army Admiral MacArthur had stated that from the island chain, we can use sea and air power to control every Asian port from Vladivostok to Singapore, and to stop any enemy in the Pacific Ocean.

The US blockade of the island chain remains unchanged even after the Cold War, by not giving up attempts to block China. By engaging in an Asia-Pacific re-balancing strategy, Washington has enhanced the island chain blockade against Beijing. 

Once the nine-dashed line gets collapsed, the US naval blockade can advance one thousand kilometers west, forcing Beijing’s presence to shrink closer to the shore, and Maritime Silk Road construction will be blocked. 

China should recognize the US threat of the blockade as a tremendous risk to its national security and development. 

Holding nine-dashed line preserves China's territory integrity     

Any sovereign state is bound to maintain the integrity of national territory, while China's existing territory has experienced thousands of years of changes, succumbing too much suffering. As the nine-dashed line is concerned, it is the practice of China to operate in the South China Sea for thousands of years. 

It also carries the dream of the Chinese nation on the ocean. If Beijing loses the nine-dashed line, Chinese territory will be reduced, and a shame for Chinese history.  Such a tragedy must not be repeated to maintain the dignity of the country. 

We should provide irrefutable evidence of history to the public, to expose US hypocrisy and illegality over denying China’s claim for the islands. As for US political and military provocations and the deeds to violate sovereignty, Beijing should be skillful in strategies to eliminate hazards and threats to China’s sovereignty and interests.