Making history, making archipelagos: a parallel South China Sea dispute

<p dir="ltr">In this article, I critically describe the relationship between the LOS Convention and the construction of historical narratives to support maritime claims. The argument is that historical narratives have played a significant role in how states assert their rights and entitlements in the law of the sea before and after the adoption of the Convention. Such narratives belong to a repertoire of assertive and argumentative practices that purport to ground a maritime claim in international law, whether by treaty (LOS Convention) or by customary international law. Specifically, I develop the argument by examining how states have deployed historical narratives in asserting the legal status of archipelagos as defined in Article 46(b) of the LOS Convention.</p>