ABSTRACT
Maritime disputes are key security issues in China’s foreign policy. It involve all the major powers that have a stake in the stability of the region. As stakeholder, China plays a crucial role in maritime disputes. This chapter explores scholars’ debates on maritime disputes in China and addresses the some questions. Chinese scholars debate two main topics on maritime disputes. The first topic is whether China should abandon the Shelving Differences and Seeking Joint Development (SD/SJD) strategy. The second topic is whether China should accept the principle of multilateralism in the South China Sea dispute. Some scholars argue that China should find a new breakthrough to advance the SD/SJD policy. Scholars have different versions of what they observe with regard to Chinese foreign policy. China’s strategy on maritime disputes can be regarded as a “hedging strategy”, which means that China is partially compromising with the international society while strengthening its actual control of the disputed islands and reefs.
