The aims of cruise SO197 RISE (Rift Processes in the South China Sea) with RV SONNE from Manila, 28th March 2008 to Singapore, 2nd May 2008 are (1) To gain a better understanding of the processes leading to continental breakup and subsequently formation of oceanic crust. (2) To study the evolution of the South China Sea oceanic basin. The South China Sea is particularly well suited for studying rift processes at the transition from extension of continental lithosphere to the formation of oceanic crust. This relatively young marginal basin is currently in a stadium which is characterised by still preserved differences in subsidence and thermal history resulting from rifting. The initial, complex and hardly quantifiable rift processes, however are long enough ago. The area under study comprises the eastern subbasin of the South China Sea, the West Luzon Basin and the transition area from oceanic crust to extended continental crust between the continental blocks of Reed Bank and the islands of Palawan/Calamian Group. By including existing data of earlier cruises (SO-23, -27, -49) a comparison of conjugated margin transects is intended later within the project. A major goal of the project is to study structures at the transition from continental rifting to oceanic spreading and processes resulting from extension of continental lithosphere to the formation of oceanic crust in time and space. The sequence stratigraphy of the synrift and drift sediments will give insights into the formation and evolution of the individual rift basins. The distribution and thickness of the postrift sediments on the continental fragment of the NW Palawan area define the subsidence history. The depth and topography of the Moho show the location of the stretched and thinned crust. By a joint interpretation of the structural setting, the position, distribution and architecture of the basin bounding faults a reasonable rift model will be derived. In addition, we will investigate the transition of a passive rifted margin (off Palawan) to a convergent margin (off Luzon). The timing of the evolution of the South China Sea basin will be more exactly determined by comparing the magnetic anomalies from the eastern subbasin of the South China Sea with existing data from the central/western basin. Particularly the question of a symmetric/asymmetric opening of the oceanic basin and the timing and location of the individual rift/drift episodes will be investigated. Therefore, we investigated rift structures at the southeastern margin of the South China Sea by means of reflection seismology, gravity, magnetics, bathymetry and sediment echosounder and we performed magnetic measurements to identify seafloor spreading anomalies in the eastern subbasin of the South China Sea.