The Hague theatrical Judgment on the South China Sea

From the onset, the conclusion of this international farce was already a given. Professor Tommy Koh, Singapore’s Ambassador at Large and a Law professor, had written that the UNCLOS has no jurisdiction over territorial disputes in his article Peace At Sea in the ST on 3 Jun. And I quote,

‘The convention has one other unique feature. Under Unclos, dispute settlement is compulsory and not optional and it is an integral part of the convention….

Under Article 298 of the convention, disputes over sea boundaries and military activities are exempted from compulsory dispute settlement. Apart from these two exceptions, all other disputes concerning the interpretation and application of the convention are subject to compulsory dispute settlement.’

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in Hague thus has no right and reason to hear the dispute over the South China Sea islands put up by the Philippines. The Hague’s stubborn insistence to hear this case is enough to tell what is it’s motive and agenda.

An international court of jurisdiction is expected to be impartial, to uphold the law under its constitution if it wants to be respectable and seen as respectable as an international court of justice. The moment it decided to hear a case not within its jurisdiction is the moment it is failing as an international court and loses its credibility to the nations of the world. The judicial committee has done wrong to the reputation and credibility of this Court. It undermines the reason for its existence when it crumbled to political pressure to hear a case it was not supposed to hear.

The Permanent Court went ahead despite objections by China and with China stating clearly that it would not respect its arbitration and decision. Why would this Court continue with the farce knowing that China did not give its consent to hear the case? It is political. Yes, the Court is making a political statement, not a decision based on law which it has no jurisdiction. It ignores the main party of the dispute’s objection and compromises its own credibility and the integrity of the judges.

Now the Court is expected to deliver its ‘judgment’, or political opinion in this case, and the Americans and its allies are waiting eagerly to use it to demand that China respects this political opinion that has no legal authority and not legally binding under any courts of law. And the irony, the Americans are not even a signatory of UNCLOS, in other words saying that they don’t respect the rules and regulations of UNCLOS, but demanding China to accept an illegal political opinion from the ICJ?

Without the consent of China, a party to a territorial dispute, the decision of the Court is meaningless, illegal and irrelevant. It has no authority, no legal status and it is not binding. It is only right for China to ignore it as another political statement or even tear it to pieces like what the American did in the past to tell the Court that it had no jurisdiction over them. To China and the world, the whole drama is as good as a hoax, a theatre engineered and promoted by its perpetrators.

Nonetheless, the Americans, the Philippines and their allies will want to use the Hague as a political statement to put political pressure on China as if China is violating the judgment of an international court when it was not so. China is legally entitled to ignore the Hague decision as it has not given its consent to the arbitration.

The pro western media would have a field day trying take down China as a rogue and recalcitrant nation, not playing by the rule of law. The western leaders are expected to make their political speeches to compel China to accept a farcical judgment that they too did not believe is legal. Some Asean states may want to believe that the Philippines had won a legal battle in the international court when it has not.

There will be a lot of outcry by the Americans and its allies to discredit China by this Hague Conspiracy. It is a sham! It is so shameful for an international court of jurisdiction to compromise is neutrality, integrity and legality to be part of the American and Filipino conspiracy. The bottom line, the Permanent Court of Arbitration has lost all credibility as a neutral and respectable international court to hear disputes between countries. And the American camp can beat the war drum but nothing will change the status of the islands in the South China Sea.

The theatre has come to an end, with an applause and encore from the conspirators but nothing more. It is rubbish, not binding and an act of desperation to make something illegal to be legal.

Independent countries of the international community must stand up to this farce. They must stop it from becoming a precedent to decide the fate of their future that may be imposed on them by the abuse of power and trust of the international court beyond its jurisdiction.

More clever suggestions to control car population

The COE and high taxes on car and petrol was one of the butcher knives used to control car population here and are very effective. But more can be done to fine tune car control policies to make it even better and towards a car less society. Here are some suggestions.

1.     Bigger car pay more road tax

2.     More cars per household pay more road tax on second car

3.     Big car used more petrol, set a quota, above which pay higher petrol tax.

These measures will make car owners to switch to smaller cars. Then impose higher taxes on smaller cars as they are less efficient than bigger cars on a per cc basis as big cars have better technology to save fuel.

The result, people will use less of their cars. Some will park their cars in the car parks more than driving. Some will take trains or buses. Let me deal with those parking their cars in the car parks, especially HDB car parks. These people are causing jams in car parks for leaving their cars in the car parks all the time. Impose higher parking fees for people who park too long in the car parks. Car parks that are too full means car park fees are too cheap. This one I must agree. But cannot simply increase parking fees. Just make those who park too long to pay more. No more season parking. Charge by per hour.  Car owners parking 24 hours a day would have to pay $24. Then they will not park their cars in the car park and causing congestions in the car parks. So simple!

Now car owners will not park their cars in the car parks as it is becoming too expensive. They will also not drive on the roads as it will also become more expensive. So best thing to do is to sell off the cars and take buses and trains.

But with so many people taking trains and buses sure the trains and buses will be jam pack, then how? So simple, increase train and bus fares lah. Then no more jam pack trains and buses surely.

See, ordinary Singaporeans also can come up with clever ideas. Hope they will publish these ideas in the main media as ground up suggestions and praise Redbean for it. Then can implement it like the people are all for it. No need foreign talents with Ph Ds and what not papers to make clever suggestions to collect more money.

Please don’t send Redbean to IMH.

Sometimes it is very difficult to tell the difference between intelligent suggestions and bullshit. It tells you how clever is the person who can see the difference and those that cannot. Stupidity cannot be cured.

Oh, HDB car park fees will be raised in December.

Malaysia becoming more like Singapore, the next incorruptible country

Singapore has the reputation of being the least corrupt country in Asia. Thanks to an incorruptible govt and an incorruptible culture. After visiting Singapore so many times and so many exchanges and retreats with Singapore govt officials, something good must have rubbed on to the Malaysians. They are becoming incorruptible, especially the ruling govt.

So far no govt official has been arrested for corruption, not from the ruling party definitely. The only people that are corrupt are likely from the opposition parties and their members. The Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng, has just been arrested for corruption.

This is how serious Malaysia is about stamping out the scourge of corruption in the country. And they have set a very good example with the ruling party members all being incorruptible. And they will not be kind to the opposition parties or anyone that is corrupt.

Malaysia is becoming another shining example of a country that is free of corruption and very firm against anyone that is corrupt, regardless of race or position. Now Asean countries have two shining examples to emulate, Singapore and Malaysia, the two most incorruptible countries in Asean and Asia.

Najib is setting a fine example of honesty and incorruptibility.

South China Sea turning into another Indonesian wayang kulit

The South China Sea islands have been claimed by China for centuries and have never been an issue with the new countries in Asean for three main reasons. Historically, they were claimed by China and there were no Asean countries to talk about or to contest them. The new countries only came into existence after the end of WW2. They were non countries before that. And thirdly, the Americans came into the picture to agitate and support the new countries to claim the islands longed claimed by China.

What is the issue? It is not China claiming any part of the territory or sea belong to the new countries. It is the new countries wanting to claim islands belonging to China. But the western media gave it a wicked twist, that it was China claiming islands belonging to the new countries.

And the Philippines, with the support of the Americans and engineering a silly international court to hear a case that they have no jurisdiction to hear, put up a claim to this court without the consent of China as the other party for arbitration. It is a cooked deal from the start when an arbitration needs to have the consent of both parties but being heard in a farcical court with only one party presenting its case and the other party not present.  What a sham!

Many countries have border issues created during the era of imperialism and colonialism but are peacefully talking and negotiating the difference. Here we have the western media hyping up such border disputes and with the Americans agitating and provoking one or two spurious claimants to push the barrier to the verge of a military conflict and blaming China for it. There was no issue but made an issue by the American and western media.

Now another article by Reuter in the Today paper on 29 Jun framed the posturing by the Indonesian into another wayang kulit. It suggested that Indonesia was facing claims by China, threats by China, confrontation in the sea, clashes etc etc, all very serious stuff and Indonesia is bolstering up its defence and increasing its defence budget to protect its territorial waters.

What is the truth? Indonesia under attack by China?

Indonesian navy in clashes with Chinese navy? Indonesian confronting Chinese navy, in face off? China claiming Indonesian territories, claiming Natuna Islands? Far from it.

The whole farce was kicked up with Indonesian Navy chasing Chinese fishing boats, arresting Chinese fishermen and firing at Chinese fishing boats in disputed territories.  It was Indonesian Navy threatening and harassing Chinese fishing boats. Chinese Coast Guard Vessels did not confront or challenge the Indonesian Navy. If they did, they would have sunk the tiny Indonesian frigates. The Chinese Coast Guard vessels are much bigger and much well equipped to take on the Indonesian frigates.

Now who is threatening who?  Everything was hyped by the Indonesians with their Navy doing all the confronting and chasing against fishing boats! Yes, unarmed Chinese fishing boats that ran when confronted by the armed Indonesian frigates.  Whose is being feared and who is the bully and gangster?  Indonesian Navy being threatened by Chinese fishing boats or behaving like gangsters and pirates harassing Chinese fishing boats?

What is the truth? And the Indonesian wayang kulit went further to state that the Indonesian President had to make a visit to the Natuna Islands to make sure they are still there. They need to reinforce the islands with more military hardware!

Is China claiming the Natunas? If China would to do so, imagine what the Americans and the western media would say and how Asean would react? When Vietnam was threatening to run all over Asean, they were shivering in their pants and it was China that came in to stop Vietnam from running all over Asean. Today they are taunting China as if China is hapless against these little street urchins, and crying wolf.

What is the truth? Who is the aggressor, who is the bully, who is the gangster? The new Asean countries have been grabbing Chinese islands and accusing China of being the aggressor with the connivance of the Americans and western media.

Can you beat that?

Post-Brexit UK – A New Dawn for ASEAN

The political and economic fundamentals of the United Kingdom (UK) remain very strong even as madness and mayhem descend upon global financial markets after the Brexit voted 52%-48% in favour of the UK leaving the European Union (EU) in 2 years time.

Global financial markets protested as they are unable to grasp the inevitability of the emergence of an unfamiliar new world order having a independent, politically and economically strong UK unhinged from the EU. That the UK has never been truly and fully an integrated part of the EU seem to be lost on the major market players as they allow their fears and ignorance to fuel massive sell-down of stocks regardless of their materiality and relevance to UK and/or EU economies. 

The UK economy is 4% of the world’s GDP; and at nearly US$3 Trillion is the 9^th largest in the world and the 2^nd largest in the EU.  With a reducing national budget deficit, the UK has been the fastest growing among the developed nations, being the 9^th largest exporter and the 5^th largest importer with the world, including the EU. 

In terms of foreign direct investments (FDI), the UK has the 3^rd largest stock (behind USA and China) of inward FDI worth US$1.7 Trillion as well as the 2^nd largest stock of outward FDI, of which a significant 28% (about US$35Billion) flows into the EU.   

The grandiose EU dream has become nightmarish over the years. The peace and prosperity envisioned at its creation are mired in despair, unemployment, debts and fiscal disarray.   EU’s share of the world GDP has fallen in the past 40 years from 37% in 1973 to less than 23% today, and still declining.  EU unemployment remains high when compared with UK’s 7.5%, with countries like Spain at 23% and Greece above 25%.  The relentless economic EU economic and political crisis has no solution because it is grounded in the very conceptual nature of a “United European” notion that forces a group of 28 nations with very disparate economies and fiscal discipline, resulting thereby in endemic economic paralysis and stunted development.

Post-Brexit UK is finally freed of EU ideological, economic and political shackles to pursue her own destiny and dreams. Brexit opens up tremendous opportunities for the UK to expand its own trade with current trading partners like ASEAN, Commonwealth, Africa and the USA.  And to create alliances with other trading blocs eg the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) around the Pacific Rim, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the emergent ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) without having to obtain EU approval.

ASEAN is an economic community of 10 South-East Asian nations with a combined GDP of US$2.4 Trillion and 630 million people.  For ASEAN, the UK is a main export and FDI destination in Europe.  ASEAN also receive significant FDI from the UK. The UK-ASEAN relationship can be expected to deepen and expand in volume and financially post-Brexit. 

As a start, a UK-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (UKAFTA) would make logical sense and easiest to model after the proposed EU-ASEAN FTA currently under negotiation.  Alternatively, individual ASEAN nations could fashion their own respective FTA with the UK, using the 2015 EU-Singapore FTA (EUSFTA) as a template model.  Individual UK-ASEAN Member FTAs would not jeopardize the eventual conclusion of a EU-ASEAN FTA.  There are multi-billion dollar infrastructural projects in ASEAN awaiting FDI and investments from the UK, EU and the rest of the world.

Post-Brexit UK is a strong competitor of the EU and other developed nations in the global FDI and trade space.  ASEAN sits at the heart of two high-profile mega-FTAs: the TPP and the RCEP between ASEAN and its six FTA partners, including China, Japan and India. These two giant trade initiatives will inevitably draw ever more economic activities and FDI to the region and away from the transatlantic trading area, to the detriment of the EU.

The continuing turmoil in the financial markets post-Brexit ignore the solid inherent strengths of the UK economiy and her financial institutions.  Her political stability is not weakened by the Brexit vote, but is instead strengthened by the boldness and courage of her political leaders from all political persuasions to trust in the judgment of the UK people.  The doomsayers and gloomy outlooks for post-Brexit UK have no objective basis and are grounded in their fears of the unknown dynamics of a EU with the UK. 

The UK is also the peer leader of the Commonwealth, a huge loosely-organised bloc of 53 countries with a combined GDP of over US$9 Trillion.

And when the economic radarscope of the UK scans more wider globally, the Commonwealth and ASEAN will become her new prosperity platforms as the UK re-kindles old legacy relations in the dawn of a new global order now unfolding and unpacking before us in an uncharacteristic and certain manner.     

Michael Heng aka Mikros

Related:

Whither the Gloom and Doom for UK?

Post-BREXIT UK – Dawn of a New Global Order