Experts endorse Xinhua think tank reports on South China Sea truths

BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Experts have made positive comments on "The Truths about the South China Sea," a series of reports released in both Chinese and English on Thursday by Xinhua Institute, a think tank affiliated with Xinhua News Agency.

They believe these reports systematically expound on the historical and legal basis of China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea, reveal the truth about external forces interfering in the South China Sea issue, and construe China's actions in building the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation.

The year 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

These reports state that eight decades ago, as part of the post-war international order and global landscape, China resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao, known in English as the South China Sea islands, in accordance with international legal instruments such as the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation. China's sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao has been widely recognized by the international community.

Li Guoqiang, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of History under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said these reports comprehensively illustrate the historical process of China's resumption of sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao and reaffirm the legitimacy and validity of China's claims to rights and interests in the South China Sea.

Li added that these reports also highlight China's efforts and contributions over decades to uphold the post-war international order and maintain regional peace and stability.

These reports also state that China's sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao and related maritime rights were established through centuries of historical development and rest on solid historical and legal foundations.

"As the first country to discover, name and develop Nanhai Zhudao and adjacent waters, and the first to exercise continuous, peaceful and effective sovereignty and jurisdiction over them, China should persistently and fully collate, explore and interpret historical evidence related to the South China Sea," said Wu Shicun, chairman of the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance.

Li said that the abundant evidence presented in the reports underscores that denying China's sovereignty and related rights over Nanhai Zhudao shows disregard for history and poses challenges to the post-war international order.

However, in recent years, non-regional forces have launched "great power competition" targeting China in the so-called "Indo-Pacific region" and leveraged the South China Sea issue as a means to contain China, instigating relevant claimant states, including the Philippines, to provoke China and escalating tensions in the South China Sea, say the reports.

Yang Xiao, a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, stated that objective facts in the reports expose acts of infringement, plunder and incitement by a few countries that undermine peace in the South China Sea -- debunking disinformation and lies about the region spread by some in international discourse.

The reports call for seeing through the U.S.-led Western maneuvers of instigation, coercion and division over the South China Sea, maintaining regional peace and stability as well as achieving prosperity for all countries, and jointly making the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation, as the world faces increasing uncertainty and challenges.

The think tank series consists of three reports, including two newly released reports titled "Historical and Legal Basis of China's Territorial Sovereignty and Maritime Rights in the South China Sea" and "Incitement, Threats, and Lies -- The Truth about External Forces Interfering in the South China Sea Issue," as well as a June publication titled "Making the South China Sea a Sea of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation: China's Actions."