So the United Nations tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines regarding a set of contested islands in the South China sea. I guess this irritated China which said the tribunal arbitration council had no jurisdiction to enforce the ruling. The Philippines gave a soft response to the ruling which may have also been political due to a recent change in government power.
The islands which may be rich in resources are in a contentious area which China claims is within its purview according to their 9-dash-line which they claim as their territory. The arbitration tribunal did not recognize that claim when the Phillipines brought the dispute to the court in the Hague. Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei also have claims in the region that are competing. The islands are uninhabited but they may be rich in resources and the area has shipping lanes and fishing resources that are the livelihood of many people in the region.
This ruling for China is a loss of face for the country. The Chinese claim that they have had rights to this area for thousands of years. China has agreed to allow shipping lanes and flight through the area as per the international law.
Like another set of contentious dealings over the last few years there are a set of islands off Japan that China also claims. The Chinese and Japanese have been back and forth over those islands and there have been some near miss interactions from military craft of both countries. The Senkaku Islands dispute which the Chinese call the Daioyu Islands are also claimed by Taiwan. Those islands have been controlled by Japan since 1895. There are rumors that there is oil on the islands which has possibly caused a rise in the rhetoric regarding the dispute.
Although the Senkaku Islands are not of interest to the United States the islands are included in the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan meaning that a defense of the islands by Japan would require the United States to come to the aid of Japan in a conflict. In 2012 the Japanese purchased two of the islands from their private owner promoting protests in China. In 2013 the Chinese set up the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone which includes the Senkaku Islands and requires all aircraft entering the zone to file a flight plan and submit radio frequency detail.
The Japanese and Chinese will continue to play a semi-hostile dance around the Senkaku Islands as the dispute continues. For now the Philippines dispute can be said to be appeased for a moment although China does not heed the decision.
The reason I write about this in the blog since we have spoken about it before is that in the grydscaen series we have the Pacific Territories and the Atlantea Federation. The Jannassee Islands and the Saraset and Inlan Islands owned by the Pacific Territories were once occupied by the Atlantea Federation, so fiction bares reference to reality. Lino Dejarre had to enter into negotiations with an Atlantea Federation ceremonial general in grydscaen: retribution to end the Jannassee Islands’ occupation. In grydscaen: insurrection the Inlan Islands are still provisionally occupied by the Atlantea Federation and there was an entertainment ban put in place so no music or art could be enjoyed by the residents. The harsh rule of the Atlantea Federation over Inlan was why there were underground music concerts being held by bands to try to bring music to the populace even though illegal which is recounted in grydscaen: idol, a later book in the series. The story in grydscaen which is a war between two world powers, the oppressive Atlantea Federation and the insurgent Pacific Territories shows how a dispute like this over islands can have long political ramifications and lead to war. Art copies reality as they say. Hopefully China, Japan and the Philippines will not come to this over these islands.
