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© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.U.S., Australia, Japan want coercive acts at sea to be stopped
By JIM GOMEZ and TERESA CEROJANO MANILA, Philippines©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
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Tony W.
The US sees itself as the policeman of the free world, a role once occupied by the Royal Navy in its role as a colonial power, so at least it had some sort of excuse. But the US, being the other side of the world's largest ocean, has much less of a one, and one can't help wondering how much it's activities are motivated by self interest regarding trade.
Peter14
International waters by definition, are waters not owned by anyone, and are accessible to all nations.
Meaning all nations can have equal say in what occurs in them and over them. No point saying the US or anyone else should not get involved in a dispute over international waters in the South China sea. They have as much right as China, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and any other country, to voice concerns and to ensure freedom of navigation and over flight of these waters.
OssanAmerica
The U.S. Navy operates thousands of miles away in International Waters, or at the invitation of host countries. The U.S. makes no demand on any other nation to remain only in their own territory. International Waters are free for all to navigate. It is China's attempt to seize an enormous piece of such International Waters as their own that is the cause of this dispute.
Chucky138
Self appoint global policeman, US government is the worse HYPOCRITE period.
Civitas Sine Suffragio
Biggest hypocrites ever: The US and Japan
OssanAmerica
Hypocrites? Did the U.S. or Japan do anything close to drawing the 9-dash line to claim ownership of a vast area of International Waters? Are either building artificial islands to support such a claim and militarizing them to hold on to them? Is anything the U.S. or Japan doing the top issue at these Asian forums? The centers are out in full force I see.
Hello Kitty 321
@OssanAmerica
Yes hypocrites.
The United States has never been sued under the Law of the Sea only because – unlike China – Washington has not ratified the international agreement and is thus not bound by its rules. However, when Nicaragua sued Washington for mining its harbors during the 1980s, like China, the United States argued that the International Court of Justice did not have the authority to hear Nicaragua’s case. When the court rejected that claim, the United States not only refused to participate in subsequent proceedings, but also denied the Court’s jurisdiction on any future case involving the United States.
For its part, Japan not only unilaterally claims the Senkaku Islands, despite a previous agreement with China not to, they also build islands: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/05/20/the-japanese-islet-of-okinotori-is-the-size-of-a-tokyo-bedroom-but-the-basis-of-a-big-claim/