Irrefutable evidence! The CGTN documentary ＂This is the South China Sea of China＂ authoritatively demonstrates the sovereignty of China in the South China Sea.

On May 16th, the documentary "Here is the South China Sea in China" was broadcast in five languages: English, French, Russian, Spanish and Arabic on CGTN TV and new media at home and abroad.

The film is a heavy documentary produced by CGTN, which fully shows the historical latitude and longitude of the South China Sea, responds to the international "Question of the South China Sea" and highlights China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea.

First, closely follow the current "Question of the South China Sea" and prove with irrefutable evidence that China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands and its adjacent waters.

At present, the situation in the South China Sea has escalated again, and CGTN has taken the initiative to respond to the international community’s "question about the South China Sea", showing in detail that China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands and its adjacent waters. Genglu Book is a "secret book" handed down by fishermen in the South China Sea since the Ming Dynasty. It not only records the voyage and course, but also clearly lists the names, characteristics and hydrological environment of the islands and reefs in the South China Sea, and records the experience and wisdom gained by fishermen who have braved the wind and waves for hundreds of years.

The time it takes fishermen to burn incense sticks at sea is one shift, and one shift can generally travel about 10 nautical miles; Road refers to the needle path pointed by the navigation compass, that is, the course. The "Genglu Book", namely "South China Sea Channel Genglu Jing", is a nautical "secret book" compiled and used by Hainan fishermen since ancient times. It is a handwritten booklet and hand-drawn nautical map for recording nautical knowledge.

For example, Su Chengfen’s family handed down three "more road books", which recorded most of the islands and reefs, including Huangyan Island and Ren’ai Reef, and provided strong evidence to prove that Xisha and Nansha Islands belonged to China territory since ancient times.

The ownership of the South China Sea Islands is supported by historical facts. In terms of island sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction in the South China Sea, China has the only overwhelming and complete chain of historical evidence and international legal advantages. From the Eastern Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, Chinese first discovered, named, developed and operated islands and seas in the South China Sea. Since the Song Dynasty, the China government has continuously exercised administrative jurisdiction over the islands and sea areas in the South China Sea.

Archaeological excavations and studies of underwater cultural relics found in Hainan show that 138 cultural relics were found in the South China Sea, all of which were left by Chinese.

That is to say, this vast island reef and related sea areas in the South China Sea is an area that was first discovered, named, used and governed by Chinese. Many ancient maps of China, such as Zheng He’s nautical chart, marked Nansha Islands as "Wanli Stone Pond", and they were incorporated into the territory of Ming Dynasty from 17th century. China experts agree that the people of China have been active in the South China Sea for more than 2,000 years, and China was the first to exercise sovereignty and jurisdiction over the South China Sea Islands and related sea areas in a sustained, peaceful and effective manner. No country can provide such detailed and sufficient historical evidence for the sovereignty of the South China Sea as China.

Second, interview top experts at home and abroad, and tell the legal basis of China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea in a comprehensive, systematic, international, balanced and objective way.

The documentary interviewed heavyweight experts, scholars and event-related figures on the South China Sea issue at home and abroad, such as Wu Shicun, the founding president of the South China Sea Research Institute, Wang Hanling, an expert on the law of the sea at the China Academy of Social Sciences, Reny Yang, a visiting scholar at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, Herman laurel, director of the "Asian Century" Strategy Institute in the Philippines, and Antonio Kalpio, a retired judge of the Supreme Court of the Philippines who played an important role in the South China Sea arbitration case.

In the past decades, Professor Wu Shicun has devoted himself to the study of China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea, and he is the founding president of the South China Sea Research Institute. The more he studies, the more convinced he is that China’s claim in the South China Sea has a solid historical and legal basis. Wu Shicun explained the history of the Jiu Duan Line, or discontinuous line, in the South China Sea of China, which is also an important basis for China’s claim in the South China Sea. After World War II, the South China Sea islands illegally occupied by the Japanese returned to China according to the Geneva Convention. The official map drawn by China in 1946 and the Administrative Region Map of the Republic of China issued by the Republic of China in 1948,The map includes the Location Map of Islands in the South China Sea, which indicates China’s territorial sovereignty and sea area in the South China Sea. At that time, the international community raised no objection.

In 1992, a map published by a private publishing company in the United States, with a bracket China under the Xisha Islands. The map published by the United States in 1990s still made it clear that the owner of Nansha Islands and Xisha Islands was China.

Therefore, the nine-dash line laid, standardized and reaffirmed China’s sovereignty and related rights and interests over the South China Sea Islands, "which is a confirmation of the order in the South China Sea after World War II."

Who broke the status quo? First, countries around the South China Sea illegally encroached on the South China Sea islands that already belong to China. For example, on the second day of the US bombing of China’s embassy in Yugoslavia in 1999, the Philippines landed an old warship near Ren’ai Reef while China was too busy to take care of the South China Sea.

After repeated protests by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, the Philippine government verbally promised to tow it away as soon as possible. On humanitarian grounds, China allowed the Philippines to deliver supplies to the ship. However, in February 2023, Marcos publicly abandoned and denied the "gentleman’s agreement" between the two countries, and even attempted to regard Ren’ai Reef as its sovereignty. In fact, it is not China that has changed the status quo, but the status quo in the South China Sea that has been changed by these countries.

Many experts have criticized the Philippines for distorting historical facts. Anthony Katy, Honorary Visiting Professor of Peking University Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Reny Yang, Visiting Scholar of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of National University of Singapore, believe that in the 1950s, US Assistant Secretary of State Murphy said, "Obviously, the Philippine side’s claim to Nansha Islands has no legal basis." However, at present, instigated by American politicians, the Philippines ignores China’s sovereignty and deliberately provokes trouble. "It ignited the fuse of the current tension."

Experts and scholars believe that the South China Sea will be even more chaotic without the Nine-Segment Line. Recognizing the historical existence of the Jiu Duan Line is to recognize the South China Sea order established after World War II.

Third, behind exposing the "arbitration farce" is a deliberate provocation by a big country.

For the first time, the film confronted the "arbitration farce" and demonstrated the essence and influence of the South China Sea arbitration case unilaterally filed by the Philippines, as well as the legitimacy of China’s sovereignty and rights protection in the South China Sea.

The issue of territorial sovereignty does not fall within the scope of adjustment of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the issue of maritime delimitation has also been declared by the Government of China to exclude the compulsory arbitration procedure. The so-called award in the South China Sea arbitration case is illegal and invalid. China does not accept, participate in or recognize arbitration. According to the above ruling, the Philippines claims that Huangyan Island in Ren’ai Reef belongs to the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of the Philippines, which is legally untenable.

"Geographical proximity" is another basis for the Philippines to claim sovereignty, but the United States once filed an arbitration on this ground to claim palmas island’s sovereignty for the Philippines under his colonial rule, which ended in failure. Wang Hanling, an expert in maritime law at China Academy of Social Sciences, believes that geographical proximity has never been a basis for territorial sovereignty in international law. A country cannot claim a piece of land or an island reef because it is close to its territory. For example, the Channel Islands in the English Channel are only about 20 kilometers away from the Normandy coast in northern France, but they belong to Britain, not France.

A chart drawn by a missionary more than 200 years ago is the so-called key historical evidence submitted by the Philippines to the arbitral tribunal. With a history of more than 600 years and hundreds of manuscripts, Genglu Book is a historical record of China fishermen’s actual production and life in the South China Sea. Who is more convincing?

Herman laurel, director of the Philippine Institute of Asian Century Strategy, hit the nail on the head: The United States is trying to rebuild its hegemonic position in Asia, and plans to build a joint operation base of the US military on the "Tantan" ship in Ren’ai Reef, because Ren’ai Reef is a strategic hub in the South China Sea.

They also strive to establish a base on the "first island chain" and lay it out everywhere. Marcos has chosen to obey the United States, on the one hand, in exchange for the return of Marcos family glory, on the other hand, he is threatened by American agents in the Philippines, and if he does not obey, he will be deposed like his father.

Fourth, the innovative voice restores the historical truth with character stories, shoots on the spot, and creates international communication documentaries.

This film is a masterpiece of CGTN’s elaborate construction of foreign discourse system and enhancement of its creativity, appeal and credibility. With innovative voice and vivid stories, we can spread China’s voice and create a credible, lovely and respectable image of China.

For example, the film tells that Lu Jiabing, the old captain of Tanmen fisherman, is 74 years old. His family heirloom is the "Genglu Book" handed down from his ancestors for six generations. He just uses a wooden compass to look at the stars at the bow, uses the ashes to measure the current, and uses the "Genglu Book" to measure the depth of seawater and guide the route.

Another old captain, Su Chengfen, copied the model sailboat with sunken ship wood. The old captain Su Chengfen died and presented the model ship to Hainan University. Professor Zhou Weimin of Hainan University, on the one hand, studied ancient sailboats in China, and on the other hand, published Nanhai Tianshu — — The Cultural Interpretation of the South China Sea Fisherman’s "Genglu Book" has spread the book, which proves that China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands in history.

The film abandons the white paper-style voice, but is vivid and life-oriented, identifying the common denominator, the intersection of Chinese and foreign interests, the common ground of words, and the emotional resonance point, combining what we want to say with what the international community wants to hear, and responding to concerns in a targeted manner.

The filming team went deep into the South China Sea to shoot the scene, and used the "two-legged sand" to shoot "South China Sea Beauty". The picture is full, the composition is neat, the light is exquisite, and the production is excellent, reaching the level of international first-class documentaries.

This is the South China Sea in China deeply analyzes the historical latitude and longitude and the truth of the South China Sea issue, responds to the "South China Sea Question" of the international community, expounds China’s indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands, and demonstrates the political purpose of disrupting the South China Sea by extraterritorial forces, showing that China continues to defend its legitimate rights and interests in the South China Sea and inject positive forces into maintaining regional peace and stability. (Wang Yongli)