Claim over islands legitimate

The nine-dotted, U-shaped line on Chinese maps encompasses the major features in the South China Sea, including the Dongsha Islands, Xisha Islands, Nansha Islands and Zhongsha Islands. Chinese people first sailed in the waters off the islands more than 2,000 years ago, and discovered and named the islands and exercised effective jurisdiction over them.

Historical evidence shows that the Chinese people discovered the islands in the South China Sea during the Qin (221-206 BC) and Han (206 BC-AD 220) dynasties. Fishing and sailing activities were limited to the waters off the Dongsha and Xisha islands by the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) rulers, when China began to send naval forces to patrol and exercise jurisdiction over the area.

By the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, Chinese people extended their activities to the waters off the Zhongsha and Nansha islands. The activities covered all the islands during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, thus establishing China's maritime boundary in the South China Sea.