General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: There are NO ISLANDS AT ALL in the Spratly Islands, UNCLOS tribunal rules! [View all]bemildred
(90,061 posts)Many places, this sort of thing is already resolved by "mutual consent", but in the post-colonial spaces lots of these little disputes continue, and when there are real resource contentions over them they can heat up. The Falklands War is an example.
The outrage over Russia's seizure of Crimea has much to do with such questions too, who gets the seabed hydrocarbons in the Black Sea, eh? Crimea has one heck of a large exclusion zone for its size. Lots of coastline.
I think this decision may work out for the best, Duterte appears to want to work things out with Beijing, and this will give him leverage, and if they work things out that will set a good example for the rest. And I would think China would view that in a positive way once they think about it.