South China Sea: Hague rules in favor of Philippines over China

[Bad Penny II]

There was once a thread about the Chinese island building, my cursory glance didn't find any thread to append to.  There possibly should be a general thread on the issue, it's a tricky one.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/12/asia/china-philippines-south-china-sea/

President Barack Obama has called for a peaceful resolution to the dispute and while visiting Vietnam in May, said that big nations shouldn't bully small ones.
But as China has been at pains to point out, the U.S. isn't among the 180 countries that have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) -- potentially undermining its clout on this issue.

The decision doesn't seem to mean anything much.
A US president saying big nations shouldn't bully small ones, (snigger snigger, chortle chortle) no they shouldn't.

[Dave]

The danger starts if/when those nations that agree with the decision decide to organise tourist trips to the area and any other islands. Then they occupy any currently disputed but not occupied islands, probably with "scientific" stations - that just happen to have military logistic support . . .

[Steeler]

Yeah I'm not sure how much this will persuade China since they basically said F you and your stupid court.
I think it's pretty slick of them to build their own island, although I'm not a big fan of the idea.

[Recusant]

As far as I know, Japan pioneered the idea of building up islands to justify territorial claims. I can't be sure, but I don't think that China and Japan are the only ones doing it.

People may recall that Russia attempted to claim most of the Arctic Ocean by planting a Russian flag on an underwater ridge that it asserts is connected to continental shelf that's part of its territory.

[Icarus]

The real problem is that China has not been receptive of the decisions of the Arbitration committee. An Impasse. That suggests that the only remedy against China is force.  Now we have a more than even chance of having a US commander in chief who is not known for his forbearance. He could, foreseeably, have the code that commands the US nuclear arsenal. I do fervently hope that I am not projecting too much here.

[Tank]

The real problem is that China has not been receptive of the decisions of the Arbitration committee. An Impasse. That suggests that the only remedy against China is force.  Now we have a more than even chance of having a US commander in chief who is not known for his forbearance. He could, foreseeably, have the code that commands the US nuclear arsenal. I do fervently hope that I am not projecting too much here.

He's got to win first.

[Asmodean]

I think it's pretty slick of them to build their own island, although I'm not a big fan of the idea.

Absolutely!

I'm also anticipating that eventually, someone will build a proper-sized underwater dome so that humans can start colonizing the ocean floor. Of course, a catastrophic leak would be deadly, but then so it would be in orbit around the planet and we've had people up there for decades.

That said, while I absolutely understand the desire to grab resources claimed by someone else, are there not places in neutral waters where the underwater ridges are high enough for island building and which also have things you can turn into profit?

[Dave]

Forgotten much of what I have read over the years but the sheer scale of consumption, of food, mineral resources etc., in China is humungous. And not getting better, their future needs could grow exponentially without further birth control. Old propaganda seemed to indicate that they viewed their citizens as another kind of weapon, an excuse to expand, to overrun. Doubt that it has changed much,

Add China's seeming ambitions to monopolise the production of all kinds of technology - with the resources also needed for that - and one can understand their strategy. It is in keeping with the "purchase" of mineral rights and agricultural land in Africa.

They also own, within their own borders, large deposits of the rare earth minerals needed for modern technology (like neodymium, essential for electric cars). The West are looking at once "uneconomic" deposits of such.

Add to this the growing economic hold China has over the west; large investments in power projects etc, the purchase of prestigious property, the purchase of a great slice of America's global debts . . .

Oh, yeah, the United Arab Emirates, another bunch of nice guys, compete with them in some of these msrkets as well.

The likes of Trump can bellow all they like, the Chinese hold some of America's (and Europe's) purse strings. Should they wish to pull them tight . . .

[Asmodean]

...And civilization will go to shits yet again.

I wonder, do people like Trump really not realize that, or are they just banking on most of their would-be voters being under-informed..? Because A is short-sighted, while B is kind of smart, but not in an appealing sort of way.