Nine dashes don’t make a legal claim
If you sail on it, you own it – apparently.
No one is making a surprised face about Beijing’s immature reaction to the Hague ruling that the Nationalist government’s nine-dash line is nine dashes of spuriousness. Wait, Nationalist? Yes, because that was made up in 1944 (I believe) by the previous regime, which lingers on in Taiwan; and yet the present imperial government has resurrected a claim made by a discredited regime that still has a claim to the mainland, but no power or legitimacy there. What a confusing place the world is.
I’ve also read that the alleged archaeological evidence which establishes the Empire’s flimsy claims to the South China Sea was planted there about a century ago. I’d assume that Chinese vessels have sailed across the seas for centuries, but if that’s the basis for a claim, then every maritime nation could claim every bit of sea one of their ships has ever traversed. And if the logic of the Empire’s claim is applied, it’s perfectly legitimate to claim bits of the world’s oceans because the ship from some country sailed there.
The ruling won’t change anything from the imperial side. How often has the Empire ever abided by international law? How often has it ever faithfully abided by international law? To what extent, for example, does it abide by WTO strictures?
2,500 years of history and the Empire is still behaving like a fat, petulant, greedy, grasping child, which is exactly what it is.
Boris Johnson is what?
It seems the new PM has a sense of humour, having appointed Johnson Foreign Secretary. Gove is out, and with any luck, will never be in a position of authority again. Morgan is also out, which will please teachers no end. I don’t know what sort of reputation her replacement has. Jeremy Hunt remains, to continue plaguing doctors. Andrea Leadsom is also in as Environment Secretary. I’d assume there was some deal – her withdrawal from the contest to be PM in exchange for something in the upper reaches of the government.
New faces, but probably nothing new otherwise. The real issue is how the government is going to handle the Brexit because Article 50 is still dangling above the country like the sword of Damocles.
Boris Johnson is what?
It seems the new PM has a sense of humour, having appointed Johnson Foreign Secretary. Gove is out, and with any luck, will never be in a position of authority again. Morgan is also out, which will please teachers no end. I don’t know what sort of reputation her replacement has. Jeremy Hunt remains, to continue plaguing doctors. Andrea Leadsom is also in as Environment Secretary. I’d assume there was some deal – her withdrawal from the contest to be PM in exchange for something in the upper reaches of the government.
New faces, but probably nothing new otherwise. The real issue is how the government is going to handle the Brexit because Article 50 is still dangling above the country like the sword of Damocles.
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