The recent passage of an American warship within 12 nautical miles of one of China’s artificial (and illegal) “islands” in the South China Sea represents the sustainment of over 400 years of custom and international law at sea. Ever since Hugo Grotius wrote The Free Sea in 1609, it has been accepted maritime law that no nation may claim or exercise sovereignty over the high seas and that other nations have a right to free navigation and trade on those waters.

China now faces a decision as to its next step: Challenge the U.S. Navy, the largest and most powerful in the world, or accede to international law and norms and abandon its claims. Given the importance of tradition and custom within China’s Confucian culture, China should take a page from what mariners call the international “rules of the road.”

An insightful analogy can be drawn from the development of an important maritime custom and the current Chinese actions challenging the settled law of the sea. For hundreds of years, large ships have met one another on the high seas; over time, rules were established to ensure against collision.

The standard rule for two vessels, traveling under power and converging, is that the ship observing another on its left-hand (port) side must maintain course and speed, or “stand on.” The other ship, holding the first ship on its right-hand (starboard) side, either slows or alters course in order to “give way” and avoid collision. The procedure of “stand on” and “give way” has evolved from custom to law and now governs the actions of vessels in waters the world over.

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