[Disestablishmentarian]

China is also increasing their aggression in the south China sea....they built artificial island on shoals and reefs, which by international law are in the Philippine economic zone. But last week they drew lines around these artificial islands and said they own all that territory.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank your for this insight LadyDoc. I always look forward to your reports from the Philippines even if we see a few things differently at times ... which I won't mention now :)

This theory that China now controls 200 miles around each artificial island has been their motivation all along for building them up. I have been reading stories for years about the U.S., Japan and others disputing this; but, I'm not too swift on the governing international law, how it is resolved etc.

My GUESS is that international matters are ultimately resolved by force.

In that context, I wonder if you would care to share a local perspective on the U.S. withdrawal from our MAJOR Philippines bases in 1992.

Here is my perspective, FWIW:

The United States once had a major strategic presence commanding the South China Sea in our Subic Bay Naval Base and Clark Air Base of the Philippines.

The GLOBALIST PRESIDENT, George Herbert Walker Bush, allowed these to be shut down over a "Dispute" with the Philippines over a few hundred million a year in rent. (NOTE: In addition to the harbor, these bases covered hundreds of square miles. The "Rent" dispute was PEANUTS compared to the strategic value of these bases in controlling the vital shipping lanes to China.)

This was the same GHWB who negotiated the disastrous WTO and NAFTA treaties, though they were signed and ratified (BY PRIOR AGREEMENT, I AM CERTAIN!) under his colluding "Successor" Bill Clinton.

The final base closures also took place during the TRANSITION period AFTER the 1992 election and before Mr. Crooked took office.

ALL PLANNED NO DOUBT ... to weaken America and strengthen China.

[grey_whiskers]

[Jumper]

If China thinks it has legal grounds, at best they get 12-miles from the shoreline. However, if they take islands claimed by another nation that other nations already accept as belonging... then either the matter gets resolved by one of the world courts or the UN, or as you stated a war. Japan started down that slippery slope in taking lands from Russia and then the occupation of China and Oki, and eventually they lost it all and those lands were returned to the host nations before the occupation. China is hoping war or a regional hot war won’t happen.