ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the maritime and marine laws and marine policy white papers stipulated by the Republic of China (ROC), the state governing Taiwan, Kinmen and Matsu. It is suggested that the state's initial construction of the ocean followed the Indian Ocean Model. In the 1950s, the state strived to improve Taiwan's maritime shipping industries and develop its economy by establishing a sound maritime legal system. The state's construction of the ocean was later transformed into the Freitian Variation. In terms of fisheries, its construction of the Freitian Variation absorbed the elements of the Seldenian Variation. In order to cope with a globalising economy, the construction also assimilated the elements of the Grotian Variation. Moreover, the elements of the Micronesia Model were incorporated, as demonstrated by the ROC's two marine-territorial laws and ocean policy white papers. This chapter, nevertheless, demonstrates the first important thesis of the theory of territorial political economy: How one uses, intends to use or urges others to use the ocean affects one's construction of the ocean. In other words, as Steinberg identifies them, the uses, regulations and representations of the ocean are mutually influencing and, in turn, can affect the state's construction of the ocean.
