“All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and then I can turn the world upside down,” Friedrich Nietzsche once claimed. Words do matter — and in international diplomacy, they can sometimes spell the difference between neglectful chaos and principled order. After securing a landmark legal victory against China in […]
WARPATH: China said Australia was ideal for its first strike Slamming the Aussies’ decision to take America’s side in a territorial dispute, China lashed out at its neighbour. In an article for the state-run Global Times paper, Australia was mocked for its “inglorious history” as an “offshore prison of the UK”. The editorial then described […]
On 12 July 2016, the Tribunal constituted under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) located at The Hague in the Netherlands passed judgement on the case of the Republic of the Philippines V. the People’s Republic of China. The Award, concerning the historic rights and maritime entitlements […]
Starting today, I will open every Observer column with a section called “First Read.” It will feature and highlight stories and issues that demand urgent commentary and publication. In style, it will be like the front-page “Good Morning” column that I used to write for a now defunct newspaper (Philippine Daily Globe), and which some […]
China has reiterated its commitment to defending its sovereignty amid new tensions over its territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea. Defense minister Chang Wanquan told a reception on Sunday that China would firmly safeguard its “state sovereignty, national security and development interests.” Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Territorial […]
MANILA, Philippines – Spot the differences. Exhibit A: “The case before you is of the utmost importance to the Philippines, to the region, and to the world.” Exhibit B: “The case we filed before the arbitral tribunal with respect to our dispute with China concerns China and the Philippines alone.” “Exhibit A” is a quote […]
Earlier this month, a long-awaited decision by an international tribunal in The Hague ruled unanimously that there is no legal basis for Beijing’s “nine-dash line,” claiming sovereignty over virtually the entire South China Sea by ignoring the exclusive economic zones of neighboring nations (including the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore) confirmed under […]
Now the country needs quiet negotiations in invoking rule of law THE Philippines won in almost all its submissions against China in the South China Sea award by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNLOS) Arbitration Tribunal, including the main issues that compelled the Philippines to urgently file the arbitration complaint, namely: […]
LONDON: A British MP has complained about appearing in a video promoting Beijing’s claims in the disputed South China Sea, saying she was “deeply concerned” that her words had been misrepresented. Catherine West, a foreign affairs spokeswoman from the main opposition Labor Party specializing in the Asia-Pacific region, is briefly quoted in the video. The […]
The U.S. and other coastal nations could lose millions of square nautical miles of ocean that are now in their exclusive economic zones. The loss would be an indirect result of an arbitration panel’s ruling on China’s dispute with the Philippines in the South China Sea. Largely overlooked in the tribunal’s July 12 decision was […]