Table Of ContentSpringer Oceanography
Chongwei Zheng
Ziniu Xiao
Wen Zhou
Xiaobin Chen
Xuan Chen
21st Century
Maritime
Silk Road: A
Peaceful Way
Forward
Springer Oceanography
The Springer Oceanography series seeks to publish a broad portfolio of scientific
books, aiming atresearchers, students, andeveryone interested inmarinesciences.
The series includes peer-reviewed monographs, edited volumes, textbooks, and
conference proceedings. It covers the entire area of oceanography including,
but not limited to, Coastal Sciences, Biological/Chemical/Geological/Physical
Oceanography, Paleoceanography, and related subjects.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10175
Chongwei Zheng Ziniu Xiao
(cid:129)
Wen Zhou Xiaobin Chen
(cid:129)
Xuan Chen
21st Century Maritime Silk
Road: A Peaceful Way
Forward
123
Chongwei Zheng XiaobinChen
Collegeof Meteorology andOceanography No.92538of People’sLiberation Army
National University ofDefense Technology Dalian
Nanjing China
China
Xuan Chen
Ziniu Xiao No.75839of People’sLiberation Army
Institute of Atmospheric Physics Guangzhou
ChineseAcademy of Sciences China
Beijing
China
WenZhou
Schoolof Energy andEnvironment
City University of HongKong
KowloonTong,Hong Kong
China
ISSN 2365-7677 ISSN 2365-7685 (electronic)
SpringerOceanography
ISBN978-981-10-7976-4 ISBN978-981-10-7977-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7977-1
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2018934452
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Series Publications on the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road
I. 21st Century Maritime Silk Road: A Peaceful Way Forward
II. 21stCenturyMaritimeSilkRoad:ConstructionofRemoteIslandsandReefs
III. 21st Century Maritime Silk Road: Wave Energy Resource Evaluation
IV. 21st Century Maritime Silk Road: Wind Energy Resource Evaluation
V. 21st Century Maritime Silk Road: Location Choice of Marine New Energy
VI. 21stCenturyMaritimeSilkRoad:Long-TermTrendsofOceanicParameters
VII. 21st Century Maritime Silk Road: Threat and Characteristics of Swell
VIII. 21st Century Maritime Silk Road: Early Warning of Wave Disasters
Preface
The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (shortened to “Maritime Silk Road” here-
after) proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping has received increasing attention
from many countries and regions. It represents China’s consistent theme of peace
and development. It is conducive to promoting economic prosperity and regional
economic cooperation among countries, strengthening communication between
civilizations, and promoting world peace and development. The Maritime Silk
Road will open anewchapterof human interconnection,cooperation and win-win
scenarios, equality,and mutual assistance.More than 70%of theearth’ssurface is
covered by ocean. The ocean is not only an important regulator of the natural
environment but also an important growth point for social and economic devel-
opment.Itisthecradleofhumanlifeaswellasaresourcerepositorythatwillbring
new opportunities for Chinese national rejuvenation and contributions to the sus-
tainable development of human society. However, challenges and opportunities
often coexist. The Maritime Silk Road links the South China Sea and the northern
Indian Ocean, involving a large number of countries, a wide range, and long
distances. The challenging natural environment, scarcity of electricity and fresh-
water resources, different political and cultural bases, complex maritime rights
disputes,andconstantstateofconflictgreatlyincreasethedifficultyofconstructing
the Maritime Silk Road. For example, a storm surge in the Bay of Bengal in 1970
caused more than 300,000 deaths. Obviously, understanding the characteristics
of the marine environment is a prerequisite for the safe and efficient construction
of the Maritime Silk Road. However, relatively weak basic research and scarce
marine data seriously restrict the full implementation of the Maritime Silk Road
initiative and urgently need to be addressed.
Construction of the Maritime Silk Road includes not only traditional ocean
navigation and freight transportation but also the development of marine new
energy, island tourism, marine cultural exchange, maritime search and rescue,
humanitarian relief, disaster prevention and reduction, anti-piracy escort,
anti-terrorism cruises, and several other areas. With the rapid development of
human society, the demand for energy has increased accordingly, and along with
this, increasingly serious energy and environmental crises have developed. These
vii
viii Preface
criseshaveattractedmuchattentioninrecentyears.Withshortagesofconventional
energy such as coal and oil, we have begun to focus on new energy resources,
researchingwhichresourcewillbethebestforcopingwithclimatechangeandfor
mitigating the shortages of conventional energy. This has been a common strategy
adopted by several countries. Marine resources will guarantee the survival and
sustainabledevelopmentofthetwenty-first-centuryhumansociety,whichwillalso
be a new highlight of the Maritime Silk Road construction. The rational exploita-
tion and utilization of wave energy, offshore wind energy, and other new energy
sources will provide a positive contribution to ease the energy crisis of human
society, improve the quality of life of residents along the Maritime Silk Road, and
enhance the viability of remote islands and reefs. There is an obvious need for
“resource evaluation and planning in advance” in energy development. Due to the
difficultiesofextremelyscarcedata,thehugeamountofcomputationrequired,and
the difficulty of using the appropriate technology, only a few detailed and sys-
tematicenergyanalyseshavebeenconductedfortheMaritimeSilkRoad,resulting
in an insufficient reference for its construction.
An understanding of the characteristics of the marine environment is key to the
safety of marine construction, while knowledge of the characteristics of marine
energy is the basis of reasonable and efficient energy utilization. In addition, legal
counsel is helpful in protecting the rights, interests, and commitment of countries
andregionsthatareparticipatingintheconstructionoftheMaritimeSilkRoad.We
are convinced that there is an urgent need for new insights into the field of coping
with the challengingnatural environment, the scarcityof electricity and freshwater
resources,thedifferentpoliticalandculturalbases,andthecomplexmaritimerights
disputes that may arise during the construction of the Maritime Silk Road.
Therefore, an in-depth study of the characteristics of the new marine energy,
marine environment, remote islands and reefs construction, and legal escort is of
great significance and urgently needs to be pursued in order to provide a scientific
reference and decision-making support for the construction of the Maritime Silk
Road. This book first discusses the significance and opportunities of the Maritime
SilkRoadinitiative,thenanalyzesthechallengesinvolvedintheconstructionofthe
Maritime Silk Road and provides corresponding countermeasures. It then focuses
on understanding the characteristics of the marine environment; marine resources
andtheircurrentutilization;importantroutes,channels,andports;andtheMaritime
SilkRoadfromtheperspectiveofinternationallaw.Thebookalsoaimstoprovide
a reference to help solve practical problems, such as ocean engineering, marine
energy development, remote islands and reefs construction, navigation, disaster
prevention and reduction, and legal escort, and thus to contribute to the safe and
efficientconstructionoftheMaritimeSilkRoad.Inaddition,thisbookproposesto
constructacomprehensiveapplicationplatformfortheMaritimeSilkRoadthatwill
be practical and convenient and will help decision-making. The book is motivated
by the urgent demands of coping with the challenging natural environment, the
scarcity of electricity and freshwater resources, the different political and cultural
Preface ix
bases, and the complex maritime rights disputes that may arise during the con-
struction of the Maritime Silk Road. This book is written for national
decision-makers, researchers, and marine engineering personnel related to the
construction of the Maritime Silk Road.
Beijing, China Chongwei Zheng
December 2017 Ziniu Xiao
Wen Zhou
Xiaobin Chen
Xuan Chen
The original version of the book was revised:
Authors’ affiliations have been updated.
The erratum to the book is available at
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7977-1_9
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