Hoo do dat voodoo dat yoo do?

ARTICLE LINK: China . . . Will Ignore an International Legal Verdict

airstrip on reclaimed land in the Paracels

Here in East Asia the buzz is, of course, all about the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling against China (as expected) in a dispute with the Philippines over sovereignty of the Spratly Island group in the South China Sea. China, as expected, has rejected the Court’s ruling. I suspect the noise will go on at high volume for a couple of weeks but, other than a lot of noise and fist waving and chest thumping, I would be surprised if the issue came to serious blows.

The major powers don’t seem to have much of a leg to stand on. In the accompanying article it turns out that China’s rejection of the Court’s ruling is in the grand tradition of other major powers’ rejections of similar rulings. Thus, any disproportionately protracted finger pointing at China would look very much like a case of various pots calling the kettle black.