1/11/2013
Terra Nullius and the South China Sea
The concept of terra nullius was quite a natural law in the days of yore and the world was sparsely inhabited. The original man just moved around and lived wherever they set foot on. They behaved like the animals, marked their territories they were able to control by might. This concept took a big change when the Western Empires set out to claim the world. Stamford Raffles founded Singapore. Columbus founded North America and so on and on. The Europeans totally ignored what terra nullius was all about. The natives were transparent. And if they put up a fight, they would be terminated. Anyone heard of what happened to the North American natives? They used to call them Red Indians. And Africa was there to grab, the natives were not recognized as the finders. And the European started to invent their laws, interpret their laws to their advantage. The land, terra nullius, was applicable as long as the natives could not define statehood in the European context. They took both north and south America, Africa, India, South East Asia and Australia and New Zealand and many islands far and wide in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Now, what is so outrageous or ambitious about China claiming a little piece of the South China Sea in the name of terra nullius when the Europeans had claimed the whole world? And finder’s keepers was the first right of mankind. The islands were found by China centuries back when the South East Asian countries were only rowing in sampans and little craft that would not float when a few kilometers out in the South China Seas. Only the fleet of China ships could sail and visit these little islands in the South China Seas and thus claiming ownerships on the ground of terra nullius. Pedra Branca too was a case of terra nullius. Imagine these little rocks were only a few kilometers out in the sea and the natives did not even know of their existence. How would they know of the existences of the rocks and little islands in the middle of the South China Seas? Not only they did not know, when China was marking these islands and landing in them, the natives in South East Asia were not even recognizable states in the European context. When did they become independent nation states? 1940s, 1950s? Hey many of us are even older than these South East Asian states.
China has to claim them and hold on to them before the Americans and now the Indians move in for the spoils. Any weakness in China and reluctance to wield the big stick will see the islands going to the next most powerful military state. So, what should China do? Allow everyone to claim a piece of its islands like the European powers claiming a part of China in the 19th Century?
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>> The concept of terra nullius was quite a natural law
Your very first premise is incorrect. It a ROMAN law concept. The Roman Empire was still the most "successful" (??) because they ruled/conquered/ occupied/ governed for 1200 or so years.
The idea of terra nullius has of course been used by powerful groups to fuck up less powerful groups. Terra nullius ia POLITICAL concept, and like most political ideas one party forces its will on another party, and the one doing the forcing claims that they have a "legal right" to do so.
The Australian Aboriginal, for e.g. was for at least 2 centuries FUCKED UP by the British Crown's interpretation and application of terra nullius. (Big case in the 1980's aka "Mabo". Look it up. Me? I was there.)
Political solutions are messy, because politics is arbitrary and is legalised criminal activity.
Terra nullius is on going 1500 year old proff that ALL STATES ARE ILLEGAL AND CRIMINAL IN NATURE.
Want to use terra nullius as a patriotic Singaporean: Go to Lee HL and tell the Brigadier General that he can be a great conquerer and leader by claiming terra nullius, and then go and conquer and occupy Malaysia and Indonesia for starters, then more militry campaigns to occupy Australia to the south, and Thailand to the north.
"The state is a gang of thieves writ large."
"All government wars are unjust." Murray Rothbard, one of my heroes
When China and Russia veto sanctions on syria, we are quite assured that they know how to play this game to win. Hope the europeans will wake up one day and join China and Russia to go against the wishes of those people who controlled US cos they wanna controlled the world.
War clouds are hovering over Asia especially in East Asia and South East Asia bordering around the South China Sea. The build up scenario to war resembles to that in the 1930s when Japan capitalised on a weak and disunited Chinese nation began to attack and occupy North East China and the Shangtung Peninsula. The difference now is that the recalcitrant Japanese right wing militarists are now being encouraged and emboldened by the Evil Empire , USA which is creating troubles and wars all over the world and orchestrating the build up to war in the East Asia and South China Sea arena. The shameless Evil Empire, USA is deep shit in debt both internal and foreign and is unable to to get out of its rut as it owes trillions of dollars in hard currency to China, Japan and many other Asian countries.So the Evil Empire is resorting to creating wars everywhere especially it hopes that if it successfully orchestrated a war between Japan and China it will be freed from the obligation of paying back its mountains of debt. Japan and China and other Asian nations must not fall into the satanic trap of the Evil Empire. We Asians have nothing to gain except death and destruction if the Evil Empire successfully orchestrated wars among Aian countries. Instead all Asian countries should close their ranks and unite to fight and destroy the satanic evil American warmongers. If stupid Asian countries like Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines are blind and choose to be made use of by the Evil Empire, then China must be fully prepared and more than well armed to deal a crushing blow to those self proclaimed enemies of China and especiallly to the Evil Empire, USA the conspirator of all evils and wars.
Southernglory1
Relac lah brudder.
Until very recently, the history of man is written in blood. We are mostly at peace now, but that doesn't mean the fighting has ceased completely. Far from it.
Politics and culture and lives and deaths of peoples are still being determined by "who-conquers-who". And one thing we can all agree: Man, is a POLITICAL animal , which is a "dark side-effect" of man as a social animal.
Our intrinsic "socialness" is hardwired. Biological. It is EMOTIONAL. We also have large but VERY QUIRKY brains.
We are by NO MEANS "super" smart, but smart enough to be cunning and deceptive. And smart enough to create means of mass destruction, and smart enough to argue that this is "justified" on the grounds of "security" and "peace".
"Peace through Mass Destruction". George Orwell might agree.
We are smart enough to be stupid, and rationally justify our stupidity, and damn those who don't agree as stupid.
Now, that's AWESOME!! We are a totally ROCKIN' species, and fuck the aliens, we deserve to RULE THE UNIVERSE! Muahahahaha.....
Matilah I like your mouth in the photo. Hehe
I bet you do hehe
Japan foreign minister is seen very chummy with his pinoy counterpart in the papers. He is also visting Spore and Brunei, after that south bound to Australia.
Japan to give 10 patrol crafts and communicatiin equipments to the Pinoys.
The dy PM Aso visited Myanmmar, with big finance assistant in a further US/Japan push into Myanmmar both economic and strategic if you like.
Mr Aso also visited war cemetary of the Japanese soldiers according to the news.
Japan new hawkish premier will visit the other influential Asean countries like Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam next.
Such a big diplomatic push into SEA .
The dumb japan always fall into the traps of the people who controlled us.
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