So this is where Tartary and CCH cross over. China is building islands to extend its sovereign territory into the South China Sea, in order to control all shipping around East Asia, create a zone of exclusive military control, and assert the old Imperial claim that all trade is mere tribute to the celestial throne.
The sea has long been a legal black hole. The UN’s UNCLOS convention is supposed to close it up equitably and responsibly, but its implications are huge and war-fostering – notably the extension of countries’ defensible mineral and resources rights to 300 miles off any bit of shoreline they claim, so a handkerchief-sized island defines a circle of territory 600 miles across.
The balance of power shifted a while ago. This is the slide accelerating. Welcome to your new world order. Oh, and ASEAN? #rollforinitiative .
#toxictartary #countercolonialheistcrawl
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/2014/newsspec_8701/index.html//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js