The South China Sea is a significant region for the millions of people depending on its waters for food, commercially for the vital shipping routes linking the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and strategically for the eight countries engaged in ongoing territorial disputes in the region. But often overlooked is the fact the South China Sea serves as a crucial habitat for coral reefs, mangrove forests, and other integral components of our world’s marine ecological heritage. China’s unique and ambitious territorial claims in the South China Sea have sparked intense debate by the international community, culminating with the Philippines’s January 2013 suit against China before an arbitral forum as provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This dissertation addresses the legal theory behind China’s historically based “nine-dash line” claim, and considers the impact of the ongoing South China Sea territorial disputes on cooperative marine environmental protection efforts and the joint management of the area’s natural resources.