This book is a slightly revised version of my PhD thesis, which was submitted in October 2020, and defended in February 2021 at Utrecht University. It would not have been possible for this book to come to fruition without the generous support and guidance of many people.
First and foremost, I would like to express my profound gratitude to my supervisors Prof. Dr. Alex G. Oude Elferink and Dr. Lan Nguyen. Thank you both for your infinite patience and enlightening supervision. I learnt a lot from your professional advice, the invaluable discussions we had, and the insightful comments you provided to my drafts. Beyond being witty mentors, you also set up role models for me and make me think about what kind of researcher I want to be in my future career. Special thanks are reserved for Prof. Dr. Otto Spijkers, who has acted as my daily supervisor for three years and is now a colleague of mine at Wuhan University. Thank you, Otto, for providing me with thoughtful guidance and constructive criticism during the PhD process.
Apart from my supervisors, I would like to sincerely thank the members of the Reading Committee, Prof. Dr. Alfred H.A. Soons, Prof. Dr. Seline Trevisanut, Prof. Dr. Joanna Mossop, Prof. Dr. Keyuan Zou, and Prof. Dr. Erik Franckx, for the constructive and thought-provoking comments which helped me prepare the version for publication.
Special mention also goes to Prof. Dr. Ted McDorman of University of Victoria, Mr. Roland Rogers of National Oceanography Centre, Mr. Andrea Stefanus of Utrecht University, and other experts who prefer to remain anonymous for their valuable feedback on State practice concerning the regulation of foreign marine scientific research activities.
Of course, I would not have been able to initiate this work in Utrecht without the financial support provided by the China Scholarship Council (CSC). I am also most grateful to Prof. Dr. Tianbao Qin of Wuhan University, who always believes in me, gives me unconditional support and inspiring suggestion. I would not have had the courage to pursue a doctoral degree abroad without your guidance and help. I am extremely lucky to meet Prof. Dr. Marleen van Rijswick, who visited Wuhan in 2015 and planted the seed of my dream of becoming a PhD researcher at Utrecht University.
I am also appreciative of the stimulating academic platform provided by the Utrecht Centre for Water, Oceans and Sustainability Law (UCWOSL) and the Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea (NILOS). Great appreciation goes to my colleagues and friends at Utrecht, who make my stay in Europe an unforgettable experience. Thank you, Liping, Catherine, Tong, Chenyu, Yen,
I also would like to thank the editors of the series on Publications on Ocean Development of Brill and the two anonymous reviewers for their invaluable feedback and comments. My gratitude also goes to Savitha, Kelley, Beth, and Marie from Brill for their help and understanding throughout the process of preparing this work for publication, and to Junrong and Zixuan for their patience in proofreading earlier versions of this manuscript.
Finally, and most importantly, I owe my deepest gratitude to my family for their enduring love and support. Several months after the defense of this work, my lovely daughter Amy came to this world. She is the most precious gift of my life and thus I dedicate this book to her.
August 2022, Wuhan