The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road

'Taken together, these essays provide detailed and interesting analysis, projections, and recommendations relating to the Maritime Silk Road. Summing Up: Recommended.' -- M. J. Frost, emerita, Wittenberg University, CHOICE

'In this cohesive collection of 14 essays stemming from two international symposia on the maritime issues pertaining to Xi Zinping's 2013 "One Belt, One Road" initiative, the 18 contributing authors, primarily legal scholars, examine these challenges in depth. Like the initiative's land-based Silk Road Economic Belt, the stated goal of the Maritime Silk Road is diversified and sustainable development through improved network connectivity to enhance China's geostrategic and economic ambitions. Chinese financial, technological, and production resources will be harnessed to build ports and other related physical infrastructure, develop and improve transport and supply chain systems, and expand natural resource exploitation and international trade markets. Within the framework of existing international laws, agreements, and organizations, and according to bilateral and multilateral accords, intra- and interregional cooperation of the Eurasian, African, Oceanic, and European nations bordering the South China Sea and the Indian, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans is critical, yet risks persist. The contributors explore these risks through multiple dimensions of trade and national security, the impacts of climate change, and environmental challenges. Taken together, these essays provide detailed and interesting analysis, projections, and recommendations relating to the Maritime Silk Road. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals.'--M. J. Frost, Wittenberg University, CHOICE