In his book "History and Sovereignty in the South China Sea", Badwan expressed his view that the Chinese territorial claim in 1909 was valid and that France had acquiesced and recognized it. The case of the Spratly Islands was more complicated, the book notes, but it was not until 1974 that British legal advisers concluded that they belonged to China. The book mentions that in the late 19th century, the United Kingdom made territorial claims to some islands and reefs in the Spratly Islands, but did not effectively occupy them.
The History and Sovereignty of the South China Sea documents Britain's non-recognition of French territorial claims in the Spratly Islands and its concern that the islands were not occupied in 1938-39. Since 1956, experts in international law and the Bureau of Historical Research of the British Foreign Office have paid close and comprehensive attention to the issue of ownership of the Spratly Islands. According to the book, the British Foreign Office, in consultation with the Admiralty, decided that the Spratly Islands were Chinese, and that the French had made a claim but later abandoned it. The book states that China is most closely linked to the islands, a position that was formally confirmed by the Foreign Secretary and presented to the Home Defence and Overseas Policy Committee in June 1974.