Marwyn Samuels 
Contest for the South China Sea [PDF ebook] 

First published in 1982.
Wide-ranging and fully documented, this book is the first detailed study of the origins, contexts and consequences of the long-standing dispute between China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines over the Paracel and Spratly Archipelagos in the South China Sea – one of the world”s most strategically important inter-ocean basins and China”s southern maritime frontier.
Samuels” analysis: * Highlights the impact of the shifting balance of power in Asia and the growing competition for oceanic resources
* Examines the implications of the dispute in terms of the historical and modern role of china as a maritime power in Asia.