My friend sent me this collection of front pages of Chinese newspapers:
They obviously care about the location, just not the tribunal's decision
I expect literally nothing will change because of this. What action is the tribunal willing to take against China? Nothing. The only positive here is raising some awareness of China's increasingly agressive stance asserting claims where none exist. International law is based on the state of the globe a thousand years ago? Since when did China as a unified international entity own the South China Sea? International law states 12 nautical miles - why does China think they "own" everything? The tribunal’s decision “is invalid and has no binding force,” the ministry said. “China does not accept or recognize it.”
Speaking at a meeting with European leaders, President Xi Jinping was defiant, reasserting China’s claim to sovereignty over the South China Sea “since ancient times,”
Well that's the problem with courts in general, no? A court just writes words. Enforcement is left to those with enforcement power. "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it," was how President Jackson expressed it. Obviously we're not going to go to war with China, no matter how strong our treaty with the Philippines is. So the only other option is economic war, which I doubt will be deployed either. At some point, these tricks make one look at Trump and say, "Hey, maybe we are 'losing' on China."What action is the tribunal willing to take against China?