The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations

by Daniel Yergin

At this point, there seems to be no definitive means to resolve the differences among the different countries. The gulf is too wide. For instance, Vietnam, relying on the same argument formerly used by the French colonial administration, says its rights go back to 1816, when the Vietnamese kingdom claimed sovereignty over the Spratlys. The Chinese reply that this claim is invalid because at the time, Vietnam was a “tributary” state to the Chinese empire, not an independent country, and thus was in no position to assert sovereignty over anything. The struggle over the South China Sea has turned into what Robert Beckman, whose specialty is the law of the sea in Southeast Asia, calls “the game of maps.” He adds, “The maps tell you everything.”