What is the essence of the South China Sea issue? What are its historical background and underlying causes? Are there new pathways toward resolving the disputes? What are China’s policies and positions on the South China Sea? What unprecedented new features have emerged in the current South China Sea situation? And how have the Philippines, the United States, and other regional and extra-regional countries become sources of trouble and disruption in the South China Sea?

What One Needs to Know About the South China Sea, published in both Chinese and English, is the first general-interest publication of its kind in China and abroad to explain South China Sea issues to a broad readership through accessible yet professional language and an academic approach. Since its initial publication in 2011, the book has been revised and updated twice over the past 16 years, attracting widespread attention and favorable reviews from readers across China.

Presented in a question-and-answer format, the book addresses 20 key questions through concise language and rigorous reasoning. Drawing on perspectives from history, geography, law, politics, diplomacy, and military affairs, it provides authoritative and professional interpretations of such core issues as the historical origins of the South China Sea issue, the evolution of the regional situation, and China’s policies and positions on the South China Sea. It also sheds light on the fundamental causes of the relevant disputes and explores the underlying dynamics and inherent patterns shaping developments in the South China Sea in the new era. The book is edited by Wu Shicun, who has devoted more than three decades to research on the South China Sea. He currently serves as Chairman of the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance, and is the Founding President and Chairman of the Academic Committee of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies. He is one of China’s leading scholars on South China Sea issues.