ABSTRACT This article undertakes a two-part exploration of China’s and Taiwan’s attempts this century to re-imagine identity through the creation of new imagined geographies to fit longstanding geobodies. Building on work that examines the South China Sea territorial and maritime rights disputes, it first shows both the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan) are using the South China Sea’s location in the geobody to develop new imagined geographies and transform their identities. Beijing seeks to develop a balanced continental–maritime imagined geography to better fit a geobody that includes vast tracts of maritime space, while Taipei is using the same body of water to turn away from the mainland and build a wholly maritime sense of self. The paper then argues that China’s and Taiwan’s new imagined geographies suffer from a unique combination of three characteristics that may undermine their political and rhetorical power. Their South China Sea claims are not based on a sacred homeland, a co-ethnic population or future settlement: taken together, these powerful factors’ absence may make it particularly difficult for the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan) to convince their populations – and others – of their new identities.