波多野结衣办公室双飞_制服 丝袜 综合 日韩 欧美_网站永久看片免费_欧美一级片在线免费观看_免费视频91蜜桃_精产国品一区二区三区_97超碰免费在线观看_欧美做受喷浆在线观看_国产熟妇搡bbbb搡bbbb_麻豆精品国产传媒

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
Opinion
Home / Opinion / Chinese Perspectives

The true history of the South China Sea requires a commitment to revealing facts rather than tailoring narrative

By Xu Xiaodong and Liu Yajing | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2024-11-16 11:54
Share
Share - WeChat
This photo taken on May 16, 2024 shows a view at dusk in the South China Sea. [Photo/Xinhua]

Recently, Indonesian scholar Mahbi Maulaya published an article on the Lowy Institute Interpreter, offering a critical assessment of a seminar held by a private think tank in China in June 2024. He has criticized the seminar and accused Chinese scholars of “being urged to give a forceful response to false narratives to strengthen their nation’s claims in the South China Sea.” He has warned that “the gathering of Chinese historians in June, with urging to craft narratives around China’s ownership of the South China Sea, should not be underestimated. It is crucial to consider the potential outcomes of China’s proposed strategy.” Additionally, he reiterated that “the 2016 international tribunal decision concluded that there was no legal basis for China’s historic rights claim”, a cliché that has been repeatedly hyped by some countries.

The seminar mentioned in the article is titled History and Law of the South China Sea, and was held in Haikou on June 25, 2024, hosted by the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Governance. The participants included not only Chinese scholars, but also international experts. During the seminar, British historian Anthony Carty highlighted that British and French archives have provided evidence that China had clearly declared its sovereignty over the Xisha Islands in 1909. Although the sovereignty of the Nansha Islands is more complicated, British archival materials can support China’s claim to sovereignty over the Nansha Islands, and French archives clearly indicate that Vietnam’s and the Philippines’ sovereignty claims are not established. US archives also do not support the Philippines’ claim to the Nansha Islands.

It should be noted that Chinese scholars have an advantage over non-Chinese scholars in objectively restoring the history of the South China Sea, due to China’s richest and most detailed collection of historical materials, which serve as a foundation for understanding the true history of the South China Sea. Rather than tailoring the history, Chinese historians have made significant efforts to collect and compile the historical materials related to the South China Sea since the early twentieth century, recognizing the importance of these historical sources in revealing historical facts.

The initial endeavour to collect and compile sources of the South China Sea began following the Dongsha Islands Incident in 1907, when the Japanese attempted to illegally occupy the Islands. The Qing government organized scholars to gather historical archives and maps as evidence of China’s sovereignty over the Islands. These materials, together with other materials about the later incident of Japanese businessmen’s attempt to steal resources on Xisha Islands through a Chinese merchant He Ruinian, were compiled by Chen Tianxi in 1928 into A Compilation of Materials Concerning the Xisha and Dongsha Cases, which provides detailed information in terms of geographical location, longitude and latitude, traffic mileage, size, natural resources, history, administration in forms of diplomatic telegrams, documents, maps, etc.

Several years later in 1933, when France occupied nine small islands in the Nansha Islands, the ROC government immediately organized personnel to collect relevant historical documents to confirm China’s sovereignty over the islands. These documents supported China’s “verbal war” with France through diplomatic notes that lasted for many years after.

A growing number of source materials and related research have been published after the establishment of PRC, including Collection of Historical and Geographical Research on the South China Sea Islands, Compilation of Historical Materials of South China Sea Islands, South China Sea Islands: Geography, History, and Sovereignty, etc., supporting China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands in various dimensions. Two bibliographic studies provide references confirming China’s sovereignty and maritime rights over the South China Sea from a perspective of philology: Index of Historical and Geographical Works on Hainan and the South China Sea Islands and Index of Materials on the South China Sea.

Based on previous accomplishments, Chinese scholars have devoted many efforts in recent years to analysing the claims on South China Sea raised by Vietnam, the Philippines and other claimants, as well as the so called “legal and historical evidence” supporting the claims. According to a statistical survey of research articles papers published on core Chinese journals from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), approximately 220 articles directly focusing on the history of South China Sea from Vietnamese or Philippine perspectives by Chinese scholars. Many of these articles have rigorously identified flaws in Vietnam’s and Philippine’s claims and their evidence, supported by comprehensive analysis across multiple disciplines, methodologies and sources.

Despite such substantial research output, it appears that China’s academic contributions are overlooked by the international community. Furthermore, there is an overwhelming amount of criticisms from the international community directed toward China compared to Vietnam and the Philippines regarding their positions on the South China Sea issue.

This can be attributed to several factors.

Firstly, language has consistently been a serious barrier hindering the international recognition of Chinese academic research. Within the Anglophone world, accessing and understanding Chinese-language sources and research is challenging for scholars. Even world-known historians lacking proficiency in Chinese language and historical sources, can only offer their narratives of the South China Sea history that are rife with subjective speculations and inferences without consultations of Chinese sources.

Secondly, underlying the language barrier is the ideological arrogance prevalent in the international academia. Certain scholars, influenced by a Western-centric perspective, struggle to accept the oriental model of historical evolution. When it comes to the Chinese history, they tend to apply the model of Western colonisation and occupation of territories to explain Chinese historical practices, thus leading to distorted conclusions. The Western model of territorial acquisition, which has evolved into an international law paradigm recognized by Western powers, but is essentially a model of global aggression and occupation of indigenous territories.

Thirdly, scholars from Vietnam and the Philippines excel at leveraging international forums and digital publications to take the lead. Their tailored interpretations of the South China Sea history have gained widespread circulation and international support through exhibitions, forums, and conferences, which have created a platform matrix for expanding the dissemination and influence of their research. The Annual South China Sea Conference by Vietnam and Cartographic Exhibit by the Philippines serve as typical examples.

Fourthly, a disputed South China Sea, either in reality or in literature, serves the interests of certain major powers outside the region. As a result, international media, platforms and academic journals dominated by Anglophone states tend to favour the discourses that provoke tensions, conflicts and contentions in the South China Sea. Moreover, the discourses and narratives often exaggerate the situation in the region, contributing to a distortion of the historical truth and an amplification of the disputed aspects of the South China Sea.

Exploring the truth of the South China Sea under the veil of Western narrative reveals that its origins can be traced back to the colonial occupation by powers such as France and Japan rather than disputes between China and the neighbouring states. Without colonisation, the people around the South China Sea would still be living and working peacefully on these islands and waters.

Stigmatizing the work of Chinese historians as “tailoring narrative” reflects a very distorted phenomenon in the western shaped international community, namely the politicization of historical narrative. Some so-called well-known figures, such as Bill Hayton, who are unable to speak Chinese, or to read Chinese historical sources, have approached their research with the aim of refuting China rather than revealing the historical truth. Otherwise, it is very difficult to explain why the international community favours such amateur research and review as the golden rule of South China Sea studies, but turns a blind eye to the truth and facts that are convincingly supported by archaeological discoveries and by the professional and rigorous scholarship such as Antony Carty.

The outcome of tailoring history of South China Sea by some scholars, including above-mentioned Bill Hayton, has resulted in a distorted portrayal of facts and lies of the South China Sea prevailing in the international community. For instance, the historical fact that Japan explicitly returned the Xisha Islands occupied during World War II to China in 1952 supported by official diplomatic archives and international treaties has been unfortunately covered by historical lies that Japan renounced its title to the islands which reverted to being terra nullius because title was not explicitly passed to another state. Historical fact that Vietnam has no convincing historical evidence proving its sovereignty over the Xisha Islands has been unfortunately covered by historical lies that Emperor Gia Long of Nguyen Dynasty raised the flag on Xisha. The historical fact that China claimed the sovereignty over the South China Sea islands has been unfortunately covered by the historical lie that China made its first sovereignty claim to the South China Sea islands in 1947, and the southernmost point on official maps of the Qing Dynasty was Hainan Island.

As such, Chinese scholars should not expect for another “Joseph Needham” who understood China and write China from a very professional perspective, but should take the initiative to advocate a multi-centric approach. Solutions rely on how to reveal the historical truth of the South China Sea, how to provide multiple research perspectives, and how to promote international public opinion to seek truth from facts. In this regard, it is essential to call Chinese historians to actively integrate into the international academia and to actively cooperative with scholars from other countries to present the truth facts of the South China Sea history to the international community. A routine academic seminar of Chinese historians was viewed by Mahbi Mawlaya as a signal of a “historical war”, which further illustrates the importance and urgency of accelerating the internationalization of Chinese historians’ research results on the South China Sea issue.

Xu Xiaodong is an adjunct researcher at Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance; Liu Yajing is pursuing her MA at Huaqiao University. The authors are grateful for the advices by Dr Liu Yanhua at National Institute for South China Sea Studies.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

If you have a specific expertise, or would like to share your thought about our stories, then send us your writings at opinion@chinadaily.com.cn, and comment@chinadaily.com.cn.

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
波多野结衣办公室双飞_制服 丝袜 综合 日韩 欧美_网站永久看片免费_欧美一级片在线免费观看_免费视频91蜜桃_精产国品一区二区三区_97超碰免费在线观看_欧美做受喷浆在线观看_国产熟妇搡bbbb搡bbbb_麻豆精品国产传媒
亚洲成人av免费在线观看| 精品日韩一区二区| 中文字幕中文字幕在线一区| 久久成人精品无人区| 成人在线视频免费播放| 欧美欧美欧美欧美首页| 亚洲午夜久久久| 国产+高潮+白浆+无码| 欧美写真视频网站| 亚洲综合在线观看视频| 欧美性猛交乱大交| 欧美日韩免费电影| 亚洲高清中文字幕| 怡红院一区二区| 欧美一区二区三区小说| 天天操天天色综合| 色天使在线视频| 欧美成人r级一区二区三区| 日韩 欧美一区二区三区| 婷婷五月精品中文字幕| 日韩精品自拍偷拍| 国产一区二三区| 国产视频精品免费| 亚洲图片欧美激情| 自拍视频第一页| 欧美一卡2卡3卡4卡| 美女爽到高潮91| 在线观看天堂av| 中文字幕在线不卡一区| 免费黄色在线播放| 日韩一级完整毛片| 国产一区二区三区在线观看精品| 欧美性生交大片| 亚洲日本乱码在线观看| 制服丝袜av在线| 精品国产污网站| 国产精品夜夜嗨| 欧美最新大片在线看| 视频一区二区不卡| 国产精品情侣呻吟对白视频| 国产精品激情偷乱一区二区∴| 91色.com| 日韩精品一区二区三区在线观看 | 在线观看免费视频综合| 亚洲v日本v欧美v久久精品| 国产手机在线观看| 国产精品二三区| 在线视频 日韩| 国产调教视频一区| 久久久国产精品久久久| 精品国产髙清在线看国产毛片| 国产成人综合精品三级| 欧美在线free| 极品美女销魂一区二区三区| 五月婷婷一区二区三区| 日韩高清不卡在线| 中文字幕观看av| 午夜久久福利影院| 91视频最新网址| 视频一区国产视频| 国产女人18水真多毛片18精品| 亚洲成a人v欧美综合天堂| avhd101老司机| 亚洲国产成人av| 精品无码一区二区三区蜜臀| 亚洲成在线观看| 熟女av一区二区| 日韩极品在线观看| 超碰在线国产97| 奇米影视一区二区三区| 日本丶国产丶欧美色综合| 麻豆精品国产传媒mv男同| 色噜噜久久综合| 韩国v欧美v日本v亚洲v| 欧美视频一区二区| 国产91精品一区二区麻豆网站| 91精品福利在线一区二区三区| 国产成人精品网址| 欧美成人免费网站| 国产一级二级av| 中文字幕成人在线观看| 国产伦精品一区二区三区妓女| 亚洲日本va在线观看| 精品一区二区6| 日韩高清在线电影| 在线观看网站黄不卡| 国产福利91精品一区二区三区| 成人夜色视频网站在线观看| 欧美精品在线视频| 成人av集中营| 日本一区二区免费在线| 中文字幕 亚洲一区| 一区二区三区蜜桃网| 成人一级黄色大片| 久久国产精品色婷婷| 91精品在线一区二区| 中文字幕一二三区| 中文字幕中文字幕一区| 日韩欧美视频免费观看| 老汉av免费一区二区三区 | 成人av高清在线| 久久久噜噜噜久久人人看| 蜜臀av粉嫩av懂色av| 亚洲视频资源在线| 男人在线观看视频| 国产一区二区中文字幕| 精品电影一区二区三区| 欧洲一级黄色片| 五月天精品一区二区三区| 欧美色倩网站大全免费| 成人免费黄色大片| 中文字幕精品综合| 日本少妇xxxxx| 久久91精品国产91久久小草| 日韩三级视频在线看| 污污内射在线观看一区二区少妇| 亚洲综合偷拍欧美一区色| 在线日韩国产精品| 男插女视频网站| 亚洲精品国产a| 欧美三级电影网站| 国产sm在线观看| 亚洲午夜久久久| 5月丁香婷婷综合| 亚洲激情 欧美| 水蜜桃久久夜色精品一区的特点| 欧美日韩国产精选| 日本不卡视频一区| 首页综合国产亚洲丝袜| 欧美一级片在线看| 干b视频在线观看| 国产一区二区不卡在线| 国产亚洲女人久久久久毛片| 青青青视频在线免费观看| 国产九色sp调教91| 国产精品美女久久久久久久久 | 中文字幕精品三区| 黄色录像二级片| bt欧美亚洲午夜电影天堂| 亚洲欧美一区二区不卡| 欧美四级电影网| 青青草视频网站| 日本aⅴ免费视频一区二区三区| 日韩免费看网站| 国产又粗又猛又爽又黄的视频四季| 国产一区二区三区不卡在线观看| 日本一区二区三区久久久久久久久不| 国产真实乱在线更新| 99久久精品一区二区| 亚洲在线观看免费| 日韩欧美黄色影院| 日本猛少妇色xxxxx免费网站| 粉嫩aⅴ一区二区三区四区| 日韩毛片一二三区| 欧美群妇大交群中文字幕| 久久精品老司机| 粉嫩av一区二区三区| 亚洲一区二区三区四区在线免费观看 | 日韩欧美亚洲国产精品字幕久久久| 国产精品毛片一区二区| 国产精品白丝jk黑袜喷水| 亚洲视频免费看| 91.com在线观看| 亚洲av成人无码久久精品| 成人美女视频在线看| 一区二区高清视频在线观看| 欧美一区二区私人影院日本| 97人妻人人揉人人躁人人| 成人美女视频在线观看18| 亚洲va国产va欧美va观看| 久久这里只有精品6| 色香色香欲天天天影视综合网| 性活交片大全免费看| 美女视频黄 久久| 亚洲欧洲av一区二区三区久久| 欧美欧美午夜aⅴ在线观看| 免费黄在线观看| 91视频免费入口| 伦理电影国产精品| 亚洲人成伊人成综合网小说| 欧美一区二区三区视频| 国产精品视频一区二区在线观看| 黑人无套内谢中国美女| 国产自产高清不卡| 亚洲综合色自拍一区| 国产亚洲精品7777| 欧美日韩一级黄| 神马午夜精品91| 99久久久久久久久久| caoporen国产精品视频| 美女视频黄 久久| 亚洲精品福利视频网站| 精品国产三级电影在线观看| 欧洲视频一区二区| 2019男人天堂| 在线天堂www在线国语对白| 丰满岳乱妇一区二区三区| 免费成人在线影院| 一区二区三区中文在线| 国产亚洲精久久久久久|