7. Maritime Silk Road from the Perspective of International Law

The Maritime Silk Road, which began in China, connects Asia, Africa, and Europe through commercial trade. Historically, the Maritime Silk Road, with its core goals of equality and mutual benefit, cooperation, and win-win scenarios, has promoted the exchange and development of politics, economy, and culture between the East and West. In September and October 2013, during a state visit to Central Asian countries and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Chinese President Xi Jinping made a speech in which he proposed building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21^st Century Maritime Silk Road. The marine environment has a significant impact on ocean construction, the maintenance of maritime rights and interests, and so on. To serve the construction of the Maritime Silk Road, we systematically presented information on the marine environment, important routes and port features, geographical features, climatic profiles, marine resources, and the utilization status of the Maritime Silk Road. To make a better contribution to the construction of the Maritime Silk Road, legal escort is essential. Legal escort is helpful to protect the rights, interests, and enthusiasm of countries and regions that participate in the construction of the Maritime Silk Road. This chapter discusses the legitimacy and rationality of development and construction in the South China Sea and the Maritime Silk Road according to the United Nations Charter, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Declaration on the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea, and the China–ASEAN Agreements in the hope of providing a reference for the legal protection of the Maritime Silk Road.