First published in 1982.

Wide-ranging and fully documented, this book is the first detailed study of the origins, contexts and consequences of the long-standing dispute between China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines over the Paracel and Spratly Archipelagos in the South China Sea - one of the world's most strategically important inter-ocean basins and China's southern maritime frontier.

Samuels' analysis: * Highlights the impact of the shifting balance of power in Asia and the growing competition for oceanic resources

* Examines the implications of the dispute in terms of the historical and modern role of china as a maritime power in Asia.