This book provides an explanation of Chinese policy towards the South China Sea, and argues that this is sculpted by the changing dynamics of the law of the sea in conjunction with regional geopolitical flux. The past several decades have witnessed a bifurcated trend in China's management of territorial disputes. Over the years, while China gradually calmed and settled most land-border disputes with neighbors, disputes on the ocean frontier continue to simmer into a seething cauldron. What sets the development of China's maritime disputes and continental disputes on such a bifurcated course? What makes the difference in the way China deals with these two types of territorial disputes? This book attributes the distinctive path of China's approach towards maritime disputes to a unique factor-the law of the sea as "rules of the road" in the ocean. By deconstructing the concept of "sovereignty" and treating the law of the sea as an evolving regime, the book examines how the changing dynamics of the law of the sea regime has complicated and reshaped the nature and content of sovereign disputes in the ocean as well as options of settlement. Applying the findings to the South China Sea case, the author traces the learning curve on which China has embarked to comprehend the complexity of the dispute accordingly and finds that it is the dynamic interaction of the law of the sea regime and geopolitical conditions that drives the evolution of China's South China Sea policy. By calibrating the concept of "sovereignty", which is a political concept and a concept of international law, this work finds an innovative way to demonstrate that international law plays an independent and influential role in shaping international politics. The research also sheds light on the dialogue about China's rise and what it means for regional security. China's fast-growing influence has made the region uneasy about its strategic intentions and ambitions. The South China Sea case serves as a perfect testing ground for these questions. One of the findings -that international law has substantial policy bearings on China's approach towards the South China Sea-shows that China's policy makers have been quite rule-minded in such a highly competitive dispute that touches the sensitive nerve of sovereignty and gives rise to the possibility that the South China Sea dispute is not necessarily destined for power-wrestling but may have a peaceful legal way-out. This book will be of much interest to students of Chinese and Asian politics, international law, international relations and security studies.