The sea once isolated China from the rest of the world; but now it connects them. To make better use of the deep blue, to preserve its eco-environment and to seek common, equal and sustained development with the international community, China considers it imperative to build the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. The author proposes that in developing this route, China is obliged to give more esteem to international law and ocean law. Meanwhile, it should also preserve its tradition by adhering to the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, and pursue peaceful development together with countries along this new trade route. The author also puts forward several overtures on how to improve China’s legal system concerning the ocean and how to enhance international maritime security. He believes that by building on its ocean law capacity, China can contribute to the successful construction of the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, which will ultimately benefit the whole world.

Fu Kuncheng is President of the South China Sea Institute of Xiamen University. With a PhD in law from the University of Virginia, Mr. Fu is a high-caliber professional enlisted by the Recruitment Program of Global Experts. He is also the Founding Editor-in-Chief of China Oceans Law Review, a guest professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University, and chief of the university’s Center for Polar and Deep Ocean Development. During his career which has lasted for three decades, he has studied international law, the law of the sea, maritime law, private international law, U.S. and U.K. contract law, and oceanic development strategies.