The weight of expectations that have descended on the various outcroppings in the South China Sea this week are likely to submerge them faster than the not-so-slowly rising tides caused by global warming.
The expected blasts of hot air from Beijing in the wake of Tuesday’s ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands — despite China’s claim beforehand that it would ignore any ruling by the tribunal — have served to keep Philippine officials from sounding too buoyant over the success of their claim that China’s actions on the Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) had violated Manila’s economic and sovereign rights.
However, the ruling’s impact extends far beyond Beijing, Manila or even the South China Sea.
Manila sought a ruling that territorial claims in the area must align with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which the Philippines and China have both signed and ratified. Simply put, Manila wanted China to live up to the obligations it agreed to when it signed the international agreement.
The five-member tribunal agreed that China’s territorial claims violate international maritime law, but it also decided that none of the features in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) are islands — therefore they are only eligible for a 12 nautical mile (22km) territorial zone, at most, rather than the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone that Taiwan, China, the Philippines and other claimants prefer.
The finding has prompted much gnashing of teeth in some quarters of Taipei because it casts aspersions on the status of Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島), the largest natural feature of the Spratlys.
There have been mutterings from “academics” that the court’s Western members define “island” differently from how people in Asia do — which sounded a lot like the old claptrap about how human rights should be defined differently based on geographical location, while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) offered up a host of inane suggestions, such as Legislator Alicia Wang’s (王育敏) idea that the Ministry of the Interior market bottled water from Itu Aba to show the world the island has a fresh-water source, or calls for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to immediately board a navy ship and set sail for Itu Aba.
The ruling has set a legal precedent and bolstered the UNCLOS’ standing in international law by stating that the treaty’s rules take precedence over a nation’s historic claims, which could affect territorial claims in other parts of the world.
Gregory Poling of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and director of its Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative has been quoted as saying that the vast majority of international arbitration awards over the past century have eventually been respected because reputations matter to modern states.
That is an idea that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) will have to come to grips with. In denying the legitimacy of The Hague-based court to rule on the case, Beijing said that negotiations — bilateral, of course — were the way to resolve conflicts. However, if it continues to reject its international obligations under the UNCLOS, who will trust its promises in future treaty negotiations?
For Tsai, the verdict presents a dilemma for her young administration, amid calls for her to stand up for the nation. She must evade efforts by Beijing or the jingoistic elements of the KMT to trap her into claiming common ground with China. That is not the way to demonstrate Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Taiwan, as an export-dependent nation and one that needs all the friends it can get, must show that it is committed to freedom of navigation and efforts to defuse tensions in the region.
The initial knee-jerk reaction from the Presidential Office has not been inspiring. What is needed is carefully measured statements, not hints that Tsai might follow in her predecessor’s footsteps by making publicity stunt ocean voyages.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe. Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.