The South China Sea Disputes: Past, Present, and Future.

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Author: Holmes, James R.
• Date: 01 August 2017

The South China Sea Disputes: Past, Present, and Future. By Nalanda Roy. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2016. Hardcover: 161pp.

Nalanda Roy, a political science professor at Armstrong State University in Savannah, Georgia, has compiled a compact volume chronicling the maritime quarrels convulsing the South China Sea. Indeed, Roy packs so much information into so few pages that her account has an almost jittery feel to it. Her method of presenting the material makes an impression on readers, or on this one at any rate. It is unsettling. She touches on some episodes such as China's occupation and fortification of Mischief Reef, furnishing only the barest of details. She then moves on to the next episode, then the next and the next. Veering back and forth in this manner reveals much about the political and strategic setting in Southeast Asia.

More precisely, Roy's approach conveys several impressions. First of all, Southeast Asia is a busy place. This will come as no secret to inhabitants of the region, but events at home and elsewhere in the world commonly obscure the importance of the South China Sea for Western readers. Barring some drama--revelations...