Rulings of the International Court of Justice on Disputes over Islands and Reefs and Protecting Rights to the South China Seas:The Experience of Southeast Asian States and Lessons for China

　　Abstract: The Southeast Asian states of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore have successfully resolved disputes over overlapping claims to islands and reefs through the International Court of JusticeIn ruling on the cases of disputed sovereignty over islands between Indonesia and Malaysia and Indonesia and Singapore, the International Court of Justice considered a full range of factors, including: effective control, inheritance, estoppel and the principle of prior possessionThe cases of Malaysia and Indonesia and Indonesia and Singapore resolving their respective maritime territorial disputes through the International Court of Justice offers certain lessons for China with respect to how it might better defend its sovereignty over the South China Seas.

　　About the Authors: Shao Jianping is a PhD Student in the Institute of International Studies at Yunnan University; Liu Ying is a MA Student in the Institute of International Studies at Yunnan University