The geopolitical opportunity implied by inclusion of the map has not been lost on America, which is why the US, somewhat unusually, has made another effort to ratify the Law of the Sea Convention. Having tabled the nine-dotted line at the UN, China walked into a no-win situation, owing to the difficulty of defending the map under international law.
美国也没有放过这份地图中隐含着的地缘政治机遇，这就是为什么该国有点不寻常地推动了《海洋法公约》的出台。向联合国提交了“九段线”地图后，中国陷入了一个无法取胜的局面，因为难以在国际法的框架下为这幅地图辩护。事实上正如著名历史学家王赓武指出的那样，第一个绘制地图宣示南中国海主权的是日本，并由中华民国继承了下来。