The Paracel Islands and U.S. Interests and Approaches in the South China Sea

Authored by Lieutenant Colonel Clarence J. Bouchat (USAF, Ret.).

Added June 24, 2014 

Type: Monograph 

218 Pages 

Download Format: PDF

Cost: Free 

View the Executive Summary

The Paracel Islands and South China Sea disputes require better understanding by U.S. policymakers in order to address the region’s challenges. To attain that needed understanding, legal aspects of customary and modern laws are explored in this monograph to analyze the differences between competing maritime and territorial claims, and why and how China and Vietnam stake rival claims or maritime legal rights. Throughout, U.S. policies are examined through U.S. conflicted interests in the region. Recommendations for how the United States should engage these issues, a more appropriate task than trying to solve the disputes outright, are then offered.