The UK’s exit from the EU is a cautionary tale to other forms of regionalism. The US has dominated NATO, the North American Free Trade Area, and is also committed to constructing new types of regionalism such as the TPP and TTIP. Yet, it is questionable if this non-inclusive form of regionalism established will be sustainable.
With the referendum of June 23, 2016, Britain has decided to leave the EU. Though this is controversial, there is good reason to respect the outcome of this form of British democracy.
Today, Western democracy is trapped with its self-inflicted damage. Voting works if and only if voters understand what it is really about and the Brexit poll clearly demonstrated that the direction of fundamental policy choices could be out of the control of the people at large.
The June 23 Brexit referendum saw the UK vote to leave the European Union. The exit decision shocked the world with implications not only in the political and economic arenas of the UK and EU, but which also has far reaching repercussions beyond Europe.
Given Washington’s rather overheated rhetoric on the South China Sea, might future iterations of the SED achieve any breakthrough in this most volatile area of US–China strategic relations?
The arbitration proceedings that the Philippines initiated against China more than three years ago regarding issues in the South China Sea should soon reach its end, and the arbitral tribunal is expected to rule shortly.
The fundamental guarantee of the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea is not the US or its military presence, but China, the coastal states, and regional countries’ commitment to peace, stability, prosperity, and development.
According to the Pentagon, on May 17, 2016, two Chinese J-11 fighter jets intercepted a US Navy EP-3 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance plane on a “routine patrol” in “international air space” about 100 nautical miles south of China’s mainland coast and 50 nm east of Hainan.
Three years after it was launched, the curtain is coming down on the Philippines’ South China Sea arbitration case. Now is the time to take a step back from all the hustle and bustle to see through the past few years’ misrepresentations and distractions and get a clear understanding of the South China Sea issue.