Is WWIII inevitable?

[kimbon]

this one debunks the position of senator marcos that PHL should have opened bilateral talks with China in regard to our claims over the west philippine sea. talks with China started in 1979 during the time of his despotic father but not nothing was achieved. talking with China only provides band-aid solution. a favorable decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration will provide a long-term solution to this pestering maritime dispute and will put PHL in a position of strength in the negotiating table. senator marcos is doing nothing but muddle the issue---


MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines' case against China over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) boils down to 5 basic arguments.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario outlined these claims on Tuesday, July 7, the first day of arguments at The Hague. (READ: Philippines vows to smash China's strongest argument)

For the oral hearings that run until July 13, we've listed these 5 arguments, quoted verbatim from Del Rosario.

Below each argument, we've added our own notes to explain things in a nutshell. We've also included links to other stories for further reading and reference.

The Philippines' arguments revolve around the right to fish, as well as to exploit other resources, in the West Philippine Sea. (READ: PH vs China at The Hague: '80% of fish' at stake)

This right is based on the so-called Constitution for the Oceans, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Under UNCLOS, a coastal state has the exclusive right to fish within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), an area 200 nautical miles from the coastal state's baselines or edges.

1. China's 'historical rights'

ARGUMENT: "First, that China is not entitled to exercise what it refers to as 'historic rights' over the waters, seabed, and subsoil beyond the limits of its entitlements under the Convention."

EXPLANATION: China says the South China Sea has belonged to it for centuries. This is why it claims "historical rights" over the disputed sea.

Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio of the Philippine Supreme Court, however, says that "even if true," these historical rights have no bearing on sea disputes under UNCLOS. Carpio explains that UNCLOS "extinguished all historical rights of other states." This UN convention instead gives each coastal state an EEZ. (READ: Top Philippine judge uses Chinese maps vs China)

2. China's 9-dash line

ARGUMENT: "Second, that the so-called 9-dash line has no basis whatsoever under international law insofar as it purports to define the limits of China’s claim to 'historic rights.'"

EXPLANATION: The 9-dash line is China's demarcation to claim virtually the entire South China Sea. China says this is based on its "historical rights."

The Philippines, however, asserts that the 9-dash line is baseless under UNCLOS. This UN convention allows an EEZ, not a 9-dash line.

3. Rocks vs islands

ARGUMENT: "Third, that the various maritime features relied upon by China as a basis upon which to assert its claims in the South China Sea are not islands that generate entitlement to an exclusive economic zone or continental shelf. Rather, some are 'rocks' within the meaning of Article 121, paragraph 3; others are low-tide elevations; and still others are permanently submerged. As a result, none are capable of generating entitlements beyond 12NM (nautical miles), and some generate no entitlements at all. China’s recent massive reclamation activities cannot lawfully change the original nature and character of these features."

EXPLANATION: Under UNCLOS, habitable islands can generate a 200-nautical-mile EEZ. Rocks cannot.

China describes some features in the South China Sea as islands. One of these is Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal), a rocky sandbar. China claims these supposed islands.

China also says these "islands" generate an EEZ, which could overlap with the EEZ of the Philippines. The problem for the Philippines is, China declared in 2006 that it "does not accept" arbitral jurisdiction when it comes to overlapping EEZs. UNCLOS allows this exception.

This is partly why China says the tribunal at The Hague has no right to hear the Philippine case – because it supposedly involves overlapping EEZs.

"The maritime dispute between the Philippines and China boils down to whether there are overlapping EEZs between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea," Senior Associate Justice Carpio says.

Carpio, however, explains that "China has no EEZ that overlaps with the Philippines' EEZ in the Scarborough area." Carpio also believes an international tribunal "will deny Itu Aba," the largest island in the Spratlys, an EEZ. (READ: Why China calls it Huangyan Island)

The Philippines adds that China's reclamation activities cannot "lawfully change" rocks into islands.

4. Breach of the law of the sea

ARGUMENT: "Fourth, that China has breached the Convention by interfering with the Philippines’ exercise of its sovereign rights and jurisdiction."

EXPLANATION: China prevents Filipinos from fishing in the West Philippine Sea. UNCLOS, on the other hand, gives Filipinos the exclusive rights to fish within the Philippines' EEZ in the disputed waters. (READ: PH fisherfolk: Living with Chinese coast guard's hostility)

5. Damage to environment

ARGUMENT: "China has irreversibly damaged the regional marine environment, in breach of UNCLOS, by its destruction of coral reefs in the South China Sea, including areas within the Philippines’ EEZ, by its destructive and hazardous fishing practices, and by its harvesting of endangered species."

EXPLANATION: China is building artificial islands in the West Philippine Sea. The Philippines says China's reclamation activities have buried 311 hectares of coral reefs – around 7 times the size of Vatican City. This can mean P4.8 billion ($106.29 million) in lost economic benefits. At the same time, China is accused of poaching.

China, for its part, refuses to answer the Philippines' arguments in arbitration proceedings. It has instead published a position paper debunking the Philippines' claims.

In the end, the Philippines says, the case at The Hague is set to provide a long-term solution to the sea dispute.

For Del Rosario, UNCLOS provisions "allow the weak to challenge the powerful on an equal footing, confident in the conviction that principles trump power; that law triumphs over force; and that right prevails over might." – Rappler.com

"The Philippines' case against China over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) boils down to.... die a natural death! baka patay na ang mga apo ko sa tuhod di pa yan case closed... Hehe

BTT, Is WWIII inevitable? maybe not but maybe...
The Currency Wars of the 20th Century - The Daily Reckoning

[Jun aka Pekto]

The world is too bankrupt to go to war But who am I kidding? The world is run by Keynesians

Bankrupt or not, there are people out there with advanced weaponry. Wouldn't the potential riches in the Spratleys play right into the bankrupt part? All the more for China to annex the region.

[RandMcnally]

The world is too bankrupt to go to war

But who am I kidding? The world is run by Keynesians

Keynesian exactly! The world is too bankrupt, time to go to war

Boost arms production, increase demand, boost productivity, more jobs for people, more money to spend.

To think that there is indeed historical precedent regarding war and economic growth in the US

[RandMcnally]

Europe bailout cash is dwindling, the greeks need an alternative source of bailout funds to keep afloat

Just imagine how the Germans are feeling.. They are said to have spent more than a hundred billion of tax payers money to bail out Greece before. A few months back, this was our usual converaation topic with my German colleagues. They are paying for bad fiscal policies that the Greeks made and it is also giving an option for others to leave the EU. EU will not allow failure in their system so they have to bail out Greece again and again

[dr. d]

err.. what does nostradamus say..?
...a man in blue...

[safeorigin]

Keynesian exactly! The world is too bankrupt, time to go to war

Boost arms production, increase demand, boost productivity, more jobs for people, more money to spend.

To think that there is indeed historical precedent regarding war and economic growth in the US

This guy gets it

Keynesians claim that World War II is what made the US industry great

They advocate the broken window fallacy

[RandMcnally]

This guy gets it

Keynesians claim that World War II is what made the US industry great

They advocate the broken window fallacy

And it's quite scary. US has been spending so much in arms and creating wars over the past 50 years. I won't be surprised that there's another war in the next ten years. Come to think of it, Trump is leading the polls and the red necks seems to be united in their choice, the ultimate republican red neck. If they can only spend their money on other things, like getting rid of poverty or universal health care

[safeorigin]

But of course, they need a convenient excuse first.

[safeorigin]

leaving this here for contemplation

[safeorigin]

World War III is an economic war.

Nukes and armies are merely pawns in the grander scheme of things. Going for the purse has far more devastating effects than standing armies.

Fiat currency system being challenged by the looming gold standard system

And whatever sh*t happens in Greece will spread like wildfire.

Well, I did say gold standard

Isis has shown off its new currency - as part of the group's plan for "world domination".

The militants currently brutalising parts of Iraq and Syria claim to have produced the gold dinar, with smaller denominations of silver dirhams and copper fulus, in a newly released propaganda video.

Entitled "The Rise of the Khilafah and the Return of the Gold Dinar", the hour-long video claims that only gold is the true measure of wealth and America's reliance on bonds and oil are its "Achilles heel".

Also containing exhortations on world economics, the video explains how its currency will break "America's capitalist financial system of enslavery", which is a "symbol of injustice and tyranny".

The hour-long promotional footage includes staged interactions showing soldiers and shop owners admiring the currency. It claims that because the gold dinar will be 21-carat, one coin will be equivalent to $139 (£91) and will destroy America's economy.

As part of their plans for global domination, the video also claims the currency will spread with Isis across the whole of Europe, "to purify the earth of the corruption that tainted it, after it was set in order".

Yet despite the group having made such claims since November last year, it still pays its footmen in US dollars, receives funding from selling oil fields it controls in dollars, and accepts extorted taxation and hostage money in dollars.

Even local trade in the villages and towns the group controls is mostly carried out in the local currency.

And if Isis were able to produce the money en masse, it would only be able to use it in the territories it controls - currently being contested by US-led attacks, Kurdish fighters, other Muslim groups and Syria and Iraq's governments.

At present the group controls areas in Syria and Iraq which have oil fields in them, often selling these and making millions of dollars a year as a result.

These sales - along with 'taxes' it forces people in towns under its control to pay and ransom money - has lent the group financial autonomy, unlike its predecessor al-Qaeda which relied on external donations, according to a 2014 report by CNN.

The video also features images of the Federal Reserve, George W Bush, the September 11 attack on the World Trade Centre, Osama bin Laden, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and Isis militants riding through the desert carrying the group's trademark black flags.

Isis shows off currency with gold dinar coins worth £91 each - in quest for 'world domination' - Middle East - World - The Independent

link to the video: [ame="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x33lcz2"]The Rise of the Khilafah and the Return of the Gold Dinar - Video Dailymotion[/ame]

[safeorigin]

hehehe

which is the dictator?

[minicarph]

World War 3 will not happen anymore because of M.A.D. the best thing that happened to the world was the invention of the nuclear bomb. Regardless, kung magkarun ng military adventurism or annexation, the threat of nuclear war will scare the **** out of every superpower


But we will always have regional wars, hindi na yun maallis talaga, specifically sa mga lesser countries who will not share the resources,

It is already established that we are rich in natural resources, unlike before na akala nila kulang,

[Jun aka Pekto]

Interesting to see how the US and Euros will respond to Russian planes bombing non-ISIL (aka anti-Assad) targets in Syria.

[e2romo]

It only takes one crazy leader to ascend to become a head of a military might nation to start WW3. MAD is only effective to rationale people, but there are people who would prefer that world burn if they can't have it their way.

If radical Muslims have these personalities it's not far fetch to assume we also have these type of personalities in other sectors.

[dr. d]

the guy in blue! the guy in blue!

[bongliza]

the guy in blue! the guy in blue!

i heard this a few time... so who is the guy in blue now?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

the guy in blue! the guy in blue!

i heard this a few time... so who is the guy in blue now?

[safeorigin]

Interesting to see how the US and Euros will respond to Russian planes bombing non-ISIL (aka anti-Assad) targets in Syria.

it's amazing how the propaganda machine is suddenly talking about "blowback" and how bombing is a recruitment tool for Jihadists when they've been dropping bombs for more than a decade.

one begs to ask why McCain still isn't in prison or Guantanamo Bay after being proven to associate with known terrorists. Hahaha, the "good guy" narrative is falling apart.

[Jun aka Pekto]

it's amazing how the propaganda machine is suddenly talking about "blowback" and how bombing is a recruitment tool for Jihadists when they've been dropping bombs for more than a decade.

one begs to ask why McCain still isn't in prison or Guantanamo Bay after being proven to associate with known terrorists. Hahaha, the "good guy" narrative is falling apart.

Everyone knows the mistakes the US made are great for recruitment of Jihadists. Who is saying it's just now going to happen because of Russian bombs? Do you have a link?

As for McCain...... The guy's an idiot for not knowing who's who in Syria. You don't get jailed for being an idiot.

[safeorigin]

Everyone knows the mistakes the US made are great for recruitment of Jihadists. Who is saying it's just now going to happen because of Russian bombs? Do you have a link?

As for McCain...... The guy's an idiot for not knowing who's who in Syria. You don't get jailed for being an idiot.

here's the best snippets of propaganda from both sides for comparison: "They're Hopping Mad In The US And Saudi Arabia": Russian Strikes In Syria Spark Epic Western Media Propaganda Blitz | Zero Hedge

while russia is bombing Sunni extremists, US is bombing... U.S. Bombs Afghanistan Hospital, Kills At Least 9 Doctors And 3 Children, Calls It "Collateral Damage" | Zero Hedge for >30 minutes

[safeorigin]

because it's in their best interest to prolong the war. Keynesian economics is the bread and butter of the US government.

not only that, wagging the dog is necessary to smokescreen major domestic issues: massive illegal immigration, increasingly insidious NSA surveillance, growing police state and other grounds for impeachment.

I normally get flak when I make these statements. And this was just last year.

They hold water more than ever.