The monsoon system represents one of the basic elements of global atmospheric circulation. Its evolution and variability over long periods of geologic time play a significant role in our understanding of global climate. In this study, we focus on the Late Miocene interval from 10 Ma to 6 Ma, a period of postulated profound ecological and environmental shifts in East and South Asia. The combined approach of measuring planktonic foraminiferal Mg/Ca ratios and stable oxygen isotopes from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1146 enabled us to reconstruct temperature independent seawater δ18O (i.e. proxy for sea surface salinity) variations in order to reconstruct the hydrography in the northern South China Sea. Located offshore the Pearl (Zhujiang) River, or its predecessor, the location of ODP Site 1146 is considered to provide a most sensitive record for detecting potential changes in freshwater input/river run-off as a result of changes in continental humidity, and hence changes in East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) climate. Local seawater δ18O reconstructions reveal that monsoon development during the Late Miocene can be regarded as an abrupt weakening in the EASM around 7.5 Ma. We suggest that an EASM weakening was most likely the driving force for decreasing aridity in East and South Asia at 8-6 Ma, leading to widespread ecosystem changes in East and South Asia. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.