Does might make right?

The most recent headlines are again focused on Chinese Coast Guard vessels blocking Philippine ships which were on their way for a purely humanitarian reason, on their way to resupply BRP Teresa Magbanua. As usual, the Chinese embassy stated that the Chinese Coast Guard were taking “lawful measures.”

A few days ago, another Philippine vessel was rammed by two Chinese Coast Guard vessels. This vessel was on its way to deliver assistance to some Filipino fishermen. While this kind of behavior by Chinese Coast Guard ships has become unfortunately familiar, it is the Chinese’s continuing claim that this is their territory that is the most repulsive. This false claim is a clear violation of all international law.

This has led me to wonder whether there are still norms that govern international relations or whether the only rule is based on pure power. After the horrors of the Second World War, countries embraced norms as a way to curtail conflict and protect populations. This was the reason that the United Nations was formed. This was also the reason why the world embraced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

While countries publicly state that their behavior is still governed by international norms based on principles, the examples we see around the world show that the world is increasingly governed by power and not by principles.

The principle against territorial conquest has not stopped Russia from invading Ukraine. The United States and Western Europe have spent billions of dollars to purchase armaments to help Ukraine defend their country. But again, this assistance was motivated by the fear that if Russia wins in Ukraine, it would invade the rest of Europe. Here again the conflict is based on a struggle for power and not on principles.

China’s territorial grab of virtually the entire South China Sea is a clear violation of international law. On the other hand, China uses its own interpretation of international law when it resists other countries which China believes is infringing on its own land. These are the times when it seems that might makes right.

Even the United States is guilty of this when it launched an unprovoked invasion of Iraq and removed Saddam Hussein from power. The United States claimed it needed to invade Iraq to protect the world from weapons of mass destruction by Iraq. This was of course later proven to be untrue.

China has been threatening to invade Taiwan, wrongfully invoking that by international law, Taiwan belongs to China.

These double standards by the major powers like China, the United States and Russia are clearly hypocritical. People in developing countries, for example, understandably wonder why Ukraine receives so much humanitarian support from the United States and Western Europe more than countries like Congo, Sudan and Honduras.

Another example is that the United States and Western Europe are actively supporting Ukraine to resist the invasion by Russia but are tolerating the near-genocide that is happening against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

It seems that principles only matter when powerful countries say so.

If Donald Trump wins the presidency in the United States, it is clear that principles would even be less recognized by the US.

In the global conflict between China and the United States, the conflict has spread to the world of commerce and business. In its rise to power, China was clearly supported by the rest of the developed world. It was felt at that time that China could be convinced to join the western world and become like Japan, which has become an integral part of the global economy controlled by the west. Instead, China has become a competitor rather than an economic ally. In fact, China has become such an economic threat that the United States, Canada and soon, Western Europe, are imposing tariffs targeted at Chinese products. For example, the US and other western countries have imposed extremely high tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles.

In 2022, the Biden administration completely turned off China’s access to cutting-edge chips and the machines needed to make them.

In a world that is clearly divided and engaged in Cold War and economic warfare, it has become more difficult to be a neutral country. The Duterte regime claimed it was neutral. The reality was that it soon joined the pro-China bloc.

It would be a major geopolitical mistake to claim that China is claiming Philippine territory based on a belief that the Philippines is aligned with the United States and Japan.

No matter which bloc the Philippines aligns itself with, China will claim Philippine territory based on its perceived need to take control of this vital nautical waterway. China presumably will place its own interests above the interests of any other country. Since it has failed to advance its own interests diplomatically, it is now resorting to the use of military and naval power.

The world has now entered an extremely dangerous phase where “might makes right.”