The South China Sea (SCS) has been in the spotlight since the Permanent Court of Arbitration's ruling in 2016, favouring the Philippines on its maritime entitlements. China rejected the verdict and militarized the islands while asserting its 'historic rights' over more than 80% of the SCS. This book examines China's behaviour in the SCS from multiple perspectives like history, environment, law, trade, security, and its relations with Southeast Asian countries that have their own EEZ claims in the SCS, revealing that their actions align with their grand strategy of becoming a global and maritime superpower by 2050 with the Nine Dash Line at its centre.

Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)

Pooja Bhatt, former Research Associate at Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi. Previously worked at the Indian Council of World Affairs, a research institute under the Ministry of External Affairs, India.