When foreign policy comes up at the debates this cycle, on one side we hear one thing: ISIS ISIS ISIS. On the other side the refrain begins with the dreaded, notorious, and monotonous Iraq War Vote, and then Bernie Sanders wanders over the rainbow to a land where Saudi Arabia and Iran team up like munchkins and flying monkeys to assure the defeat of terrorism in that region by throwing a bucket of water on ISIS.
Ted Cruz has raised this issue, but somehow it never quite makes it into the meat of the debate. Donald Trump, of course, intends to crush China by any means necessary.
The truth is, there is a means to combat this aggression right at our fingertips and nothing is being done to implement it. Here is the issue:
Beijing’s provocative move to put sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles on little Woody Island breaks previous promises and invites retaliation.
China deployed its advanced HQ-9 surface-to-air missiles on Woody Island in the South China Sea sometime in the first half of this month, Pentagon officials have revealed. Images of the missiles were released yesterday by various news organizations, and Taiwan’s defense ministry confirmed the reports.
The Chinese deployment breaks a series of pledges Beijing made to the United States and the international community, one as recently as last month by Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Secretary of State John Kerry during Kerry’s trip to Beijing.
The missile deployments will destabilize the already troubled South China Sea, and the situation there could deteriorate fast as various nations, including the United States, introduce military assets in response to Beijing’s rapid build-up.
Long ago, back in 2008 before the election, those who were laying the groundwork for the emergence of the Tea Party spoke in hushed, dire tones about the “Law of the Sea Treaty” (LOST) as if it were some alien conspiracy to divest the United States of certain powers and options. The opposite was and is true.
As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton foresaw some probabilities on the foreign stage. One was the Arab Spring. She warned the Arab elders at Forum for the Future two years in a row that alienation from participation and unemployment were severe problems boiling beneath the surface among their populations. Hillary did not cause the Arab Spring. She predicted trouble if inclusion and jobs were not prioritized by leadership. She listened to their civil societies, perceived the growing unrest, and warned.
Hillary also knew that ratification of LOST was important and urgent. Here is how she introduced a plea for ratification.
I am well aware that this treaty does have determined opposition, limited but nevertheless quite vociferous. And it’s unfortunate because it’s opposition based in ideology and mythology, not in facts, evidence, or the consequences of our continuing failure to accede to the treaty. So I think you’ll hear, from both Secretary Panetta and General Dempsey as well as myself, further statements and information that really reinforces the very strong points that both of you have made.We believe that it is imperative to act now. No country is better served by this convention than the United States. As the world’s foremost maritime power, we benefit from the convention’s favorable freedom of navigation provisions. As the country with the world’s second longest coastline, we benefit from its provisions on offshore natural resources. As a country with an exceptionally large area of seafloor, we benefit from the ability to extend our continental shelf, and the oil and gas rights on that shelf. As a global trading power, we benefit from the mobility that the convention accords to all commercial ships. And as the only country under this treaty that was given a permanent seat on the group that will make decisions about deep seabed mining, we will be in a unique position to promote our interests.
(The “opposition based in ideology and mythology” Hillary referred to was, in fact GOP and specifically Tea Party opposition, making it odd that it is Ted Cruz alone who occasionally brings the South China Sea to the table.)
And there was this.
Now as a non-party to the convention, we rely – we have to rely – on what is called customary international law as a legal basis for invoking and enforcing these norms. But in no other situation at which – in which our security interests are at stake do we consider customary international law good enough to protect rights that are vital to the operation of the United States military. So far we’ve been fortunate, but our navigational rights and our ability to challenge other countries’ behavior should stand on the firmest and most persuasive legal footing available, including in critical areas such as the South China Sea.
I’m sure you have followed the claims countries are making in the South China Sea. Although we do not have territory there, we have vital interests, particularly freedom of navigation. And I can report from the diplomatic trenches that as a party to the convention, we would have greater credibility in invoking the convention’s rules and a greater ability to enforce them.
Most will not remember that later in 2012, as Dems were gathering to renominate Barack Obama in Charlotte, Hillary was on her way to an ASEAN Summit where issues in the South China Sea would be at the forefront.
BRISBANE, Australia — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is calling for Southeast Asian states to present a united front to the Chinese in dealing with territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
SNIP
She wants “to strengthen ASEAN unity going forward,” a senior U.S. official told reporters on board Clinton’s plane as she flew from the Cook Islands to Australia for a brief refueling stop en route to Indonesia.
Issues in the South China Sea would be far more easily settled if the United States were to assume its leadership position at the table as the world’s leading maritime power. This is an issue Hillary carries in her back pocket, and it has yet to arise in any question at a town hall or debate. Here is what happened the last time LOST came up for a vote.
Readers here know, it’s right there in the sidebar, the importance Hillary Clinton invested in ratification of the Law of the Sea Treat (LOST). She testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 23 of this year calling ratification “urgent” if the U.S. is to have equal footing on a level playing field in conflicts arising over jurisdictions with regard to offshore drilling and mining. Ratification would permit us to extend our own continental shelf 200 miles – we have four of them! But Rachel Maddow last hour reported, as her blog explains, that the GOP has likely killed the ratification that would have boosted our economy and strengthened our position both in the global economy and militarily on the high seas. According to the blog post, the last two “nails in the coffin” were Senators Rob Portman and Kelly Ayotte – names in the news as possible Veep choices for Mitt Romney. Goes to show you, the Republicans can be transparent … it is possible. Stunning considering the long list of Republicans who supported ratification. Ambition, apparently knows no party loyalty – or common sense!
If President Obama looked a little haggard when he spoke to the press today, it was not all about Congress stonewalling a SCOTUS nomination. Guess where he was! And guess what they were talking about!
President Barack Obama, center, speaks at the plenary session meeting of ASEAN, the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, at the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, Calif., for Monday, Feb. 15, 2016. Sitting with Obama are Laos’ president, Choummaly Sayasone, left, and Brunei’s sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah, right. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
A fair town hall or debate question at any and all events this week should address foreign policy on a broader scale than the Middle East. The South China Sea may be on the other side of the globe, but what happens there affects us all. Only one candidate knows what needs to be done.
Here is an early morning headliner. I really hate to to have point this out, but Hillary had a request about this. The link to that request resides in the sidebar on this blog and will until there is a resolution – i.e. ratification. Here is proof positive that Hillary goes for diplomacy first. Others prefer military force, but not she and not the uniformed guys she brought with her to Congress in 2012.
By Christopher Bodeen, The Associated Press 1:51 p.m. EDT October 15, 2015
BEIJING — As expectations grow that the U.S. Navy will directly challenge Beijing’s South China Sea claims, China is engaging in some serious image-building for its own military by hosting two international security forums this week.
The events kick off Friday with an informal meeting of defense ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations known as ASEAN — four of which exercise claims to seas and islands in the South China Sea that clash with Beijing’s own. It is the first time China has hosted such a meeting.
That will be followed by the Xiangshan Forum, at which analysts, military leaders and others from around the globe will grapple with Asian-Pacific security, maritime issues and anti-terrorism.
For those who believe Hillary Clinton has a happy trigger finger and is too quick on the military draw, this is her testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Washington, DC May 23, 2012. We could have been at the table negotiating this rather than sending ships.
SECRETARY CLINTON:Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, Senator Lugar. After both of your opening comments, I think you’ve made the case both eloquently and persuasively for anyone who is willing to look at the facts. I am well aware that this treaty does have determined opposition, limited but nevertheless quite vociferous. And it’s unfortunate because it’s opposition based in ideology and mythology, not in facts, evidence, or the consequences of our continuing failure to accede to the treaty. So I think you’ll hear, from both Secretary Panetta and General Dempsey as well as myself, further statements and information that really reinforces the very strong points that both of you have made.We believe that it is imperative to act now. No country is better served by this convention than the United States. As the world’s foremost maritime power, we benefit from the convention’s favorable freedom of navigation provisions. As the country with the world’s second longest coastline, we benefit from its provisions on offshore natural resources. As a country with an exceptionally large area of seafloor, we benefit from the ability to extend our continental shelf, and the oil and gas rights on that shelf. As a global trading power, we benefit from the mobility that the convention accords to all commercial ships. And as the only country under this treaty that was given a permanent seat on the group that will make decisions about deep seabed mining, we will be in a unique position to promote our interests.
Now, the many benefits of this convention have attracted a wide-ranging coalition of supporters. Obviously, as we heard from both Senator Kerry and Senator Lugar, Republican and Democratic presidents have supported U.S. accession; military leaders who see the benefits for our national security; American businesses, including, strongly, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, see the economic benefits. It has the support of every affected industry, including shipping, fisheries, telecommunications and energy, environmental groups as well. We have a coalition of environmental, conservation, business, industry, and security groups all in support of this convention.
And I would ask that my longer written statement along with the letters that I have received in support of the treaty be entered into the record.
I am not just talking through my hat here. That is the brigade that Hillary Clinton brought to Capitol Hill to testify about the Law of the Sea Treaty. This is an avoidable crisis. Diplomatic efforts could have diverted this had they attended to her request.
The Senate needs to ratify L.O.S.T. We can then take our seat at the table and avoid these conflicts. You may remember Marco Rubio bringing up the “synthetic islands” in the last Republican debate. The whole issue could have been avoided years ago.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will urge cooperation on resolving regional maritime skirmishes that have escalated over the past year during a visit to Russia for an Asia-Pacific summit.
As President Barack Obama’s representative at the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Vladivostok, Clinton meets today and tomorrow with the leaders of Japan, South Korea and Russia, all of whom have competing territorial claims with China or each other.
The top U.S. diplomat is wrapping up a six-nation, 11-day tour that garnered mixed results in pressing China and Southeast Asia countries to adopt a framework for negotiations on territorial claims in a region rich in oil and gas. The U.S. is seeking to diffuse conflict in the South China Sea, through which half of the world’s commercial cargo moves.
None, I repeat, NONE of the difficulty Hillary Clinton has encountered on this Asia tour is necessary. All of the conflicts she is attempting to settle through multilateral negotiations could have been brought to an international convention for fair adjudication. Instead, like a busy little bee (a really cute one) cross-pollinating frantically, Secretary Clinton is compelled to buzz from one to another bilateral meeting to try to bring disputes to settlement. She does so at an extreme disadvantage with no muscle whatsoever because the United States is still not a member of the Law of the Sea Convention (L.O.S.T.)
The Law of the Sea Convention is a body of maritime states that agree to certain stipulates, e.g. maritime borders may extend to as far as 200 miles offshore. The U.S. has four maritime borders. Members empower the convention to make decisions as to who may do what where. Drilling and mining for rare minerals beneath the sea, minerals used in our precious and necessary technology, our smart phones and iPads, is governed by rights to areas of the sea. Not being members, we have no voice regarding who may encroach upon our own maritime borders nor upon those of our friends and partners e.g. some of the countries Mme. Secretary has visited this week. This hobbles not only Hillary Clinton in her efforts on her latest journey, but our country going forward in this century, which, of course, is her concern.
We are not members of this convention because our opportunity came to a screeching halt just two months ago when the Tea Party essentially killed ratification of L.O.S.T. in Congress.
Every day I watch Hillary Clinton work her heart out for this country. Right now, as I am writing this, she is working so hard to try, from a powerless position, to negotiate settlements by shuttling from one to another delegation. It is unnecessary. All of this could easily be settled peacefully before an international body we have snubbed by not ratifying the Law of the Sea Treaty.
Meanwhile, our precious Hillary, we appreciate all you are trying to do and all you have done. Come home safe. You have not failed in any way anywhere. Your government-held-captive has failed you.
If you understand what is happening here and disagree with how Congress, by way of the Tea Party, has stymied our hard-working Secretary of State and worse, the future of our country and its leading role in world affairs, lobby your reps and vow to vote them out if they do notRESURRECT L.O.S.T.!
If you thought the only targets in the Tea Party’s sights were Barack Obama’s birth certificate and college records, please read on. Their actions two months ago made Hillary Clinton’s job on this Asia mission infinitely more frustrating than it needed to be and subjected her to attacks by the Chinese press.
From left, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke, Secretary of State Clinton
In the pre-departure State Department briefing on Secretary Clinton’s current Asia trip, the Senior State Department official (unidentified during the briefing, but probably Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell who did indeed meet up with her in Beijing) stated the following.
We believe that the full range of issues in U.S.-China relations will be discussed, from developments in Asia, developments on the Korean Peninsula, issues associated with peace and stability in the Asia Pacific region. We will touch on and deal with challenges associated with the South China Sea. We’ll talk about Iran, obviously developments in Syria, Afghanistan – the full range
The Secretary of State, top diplomat, in dealing with conflicts and disputes, relies, yes, upon her considerable personal skills of negotiation, but also upon treaties, memoranda of understanding, and agreements between and among countries. We watched her long hard slog, almost from the day she encountered Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, through the hard work their teams put in to formulate the New START Treaty, to the day she quietly, and unofficially showed up on Capitol Hill in December 2010 to celebrate the ratification of that treaty for which she had fought so hard.
Similarly, in this final year of her tenure at State, we have seen her lobby for the ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty (L.O.S.T.). On May 23 of this year we saw her argue before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that joining the convention was “urgent.” It was not about achieving a victory for Hillary Clinton. She never cares who gets the credit as long as the work gets done. It was about leveling the international playing field.
The convention allows countries to claim sovereignty over their continental shelf far out into the ocean, beyond 200 nautical miles from shore. The relevant area for the United States is probably more than 1.5 times the size of Texas.
The second development concerns deep seabed mining, which takes place in that part of the ocean floor that is beyond any country’s jurisdiction…. So as long as the United States is outside the convention, our companies are left with two bad choices – either take their deep sea mining business to another country or give up on the idea. Meanwhile, as you heard from Senator Kerry and Senator Lugar, China, Russia, and many other countries are already securing their licenses under the convention to begin mining for valuable metals and rare earth elements.
The third development that is now urgent is the emerging opportunities in the Arctic. As the area gets warmer, it is opening up to new activities such as fishing, oil and gas exploration, shipping, and tourism. This convention provides the international framework to deal with these new opportunities.
The fourth development is that the convention’s bodies are now up and running. The body that makes recommendations regarding countries’ continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles is actively considering submissions from over 40 countries without the participation of a U.S. commissioner.
She argued eloquently that day for us to take our seat at the table where maritime disputes worldwide will be settled diplomatically and scoffed at and refuted predictions that this treaty would put our military on black helicopters wearing blue helmets (the argument we have been hearing from the Tea Party since they first co-opted the Gadsden flag) . Regardless of her logical arguments and the clear benefits of ratification, L.O.S.T. was killed on July 17 of this year perhaps never to be revived. Here is how it was deep-sixed.
What if there were a piece of legislation in Congress today that had broad bipartisan support along with the strong backing of the military and the most powerful business interests in the country? That seems almost unheard of in today’s polarized world, so it should sail through Congress, right? Well, 34 senators, led by Tea Party hero Jim DeMint of South Carolina, effectively killed it last night. The Law of the Sea Treaty (which goes by the unfortunate acronym LOST) would codify a host of international navigational, territorial and mineral exploration rules that the country has abided by since the Reagan administration. But a faction of Tea Party senators have secured enough opposition to stop the treaty before it even makes it to the Senate floor. Read more >>>>
Fast-forward to yesterday and the Chinese press greeting our top diplomat.
US and China remain at impasse over Syria and tension persists over long-running territorial wrangle in South China Sea
Personal and stinging attacks in the state media heralded the US secretary of state‘s arrival in Beijing. “Many people in China dislike Hillary Clinton,” said an editorial in the state-run Global Times. “She has brought new and extremely profound mutual distrust between the mainstream societies of the two countries.” Such stringent remarks were extremely unusual on the eve of a visit by a US secretary of state, noted Shi Yinhong, an expert on the bilateral relationship.
While Clinton’s press conference with Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi was more civil, it suggested no sign of movement on key issues. The two countries remain at an impasse over Syria and tension persists over the complicated and long-running territorial wrangle in the South China Sea, involving China and numerous other regional powers.
Hillary Clinton met with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing Tuesday. Jim Watson/AP
Hillary Clinton arrived in China on Tuesday, in what’s likely to be her last trip there as Secretary of State, but that milestone didn’t stop China’s state-run media outlets from printing scathing editorials about her and the U.S.’s growing unpopularity in the country. “Many Chinese people do not like Hillary Clinton, her personal antipathy to the Chinese public …” reads (via Google translation) an editorial in China’s nationalist newspaper Global Times, entitled “Secretary Clinton: the person who deeply reinforces US-China mutual suspicion.” The editorial goes on to read (via a translation from NBC News’s Ed Flanagan), “She makes the Chinese public dislike and be wary of the United States, which does not necessarily serve U.S. foreign policy interests.” Well, that’s pretty blunt. What upsets the Chinese government has been President Obama’s newfound focus on the Asia-Pacific region, which means more attention is paid toward China and its territorial disputes in the South China Sea. And Clinton, despite enjoying her highest popularity ratings stateside, has become the bullseye for unhappy Chinese nationalists even if she won’t be continuing her role as the country’s top diplomat–Clinton has said she was retiring at the end of this year. (We probably shouldn’t tell them about the VP rumors.) Xinhua, the country’s state-run news service was at least bit more diplomatic about being undiplomatic, with an editorial that read (via a New York Times translation), “The United States should stop its role as a sneaky troublemaker sitting behind some nations in the region and pulling strings.”
Hillary Clinton is accustomed to attacks. It is doubtful that any of this bothered her on a personal level, but the fact that the U.S. has no commissioner at the Law of the Sea convention makes it far more difficult for her to negotiate in favor of our friends and partners in maritime disputes with China over territorial rights. We have no voice in this international body. So as China expands its borders and sea shelf while disparaging our top diplomat and sneering at her efforts, we have the Tea Party to thank. They effectively trapped her in a lobster-cage.
Readers here know, it’s right there in the sidebar, the importance Hillary Clinton invested in ratification of the Law of the Sea Treat (LOST). She testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 23 of this year calling ratification “urgent” if the U.S. is to have equal footing on a level playing field in conflicts arising over jurisdictions with regard to offshore drilling and mining. Ratification would permit us to extend our own continental shelf 200 miles – we have four of them! But Rachel Maddow last hour reported, as her blog explains, that the GOP has likely killed the ratification that would have boosted our economy and strengthened our position both in the global economy and militarily on the high seas. According to the blog post, the last two “nails in the coffin” were Senators Rob Portman and Kelly Ayotte – names in the news as possible Veep choices for Mitt Romney. Goes to show you, the Republicans can be transparent … it is possible. Stunning considering the long list of Republicans who supported ratification. Ambition, apparently knows no party loyalty – or common sense!
It’s become extremely difficult — far more difficult than any point in American history — for Congress to pass legislation. But treaties are even harder, since they require 67 votes for passage. Even if every member of the Democratic caucus backs a treaty, it would need 14 Republicans to go along, and in this Congress, that’s an implausibly high number.
This is particularly relevant this week because of the Law of the Sea Treaty, negotiated 18 years ago, and ratified by 161 countries around the globe. Here in the U.S., it’s been endorsed by the Clinton administration, the Bush administration, the Obama administration, business leaders, the State Department, the Pentagon, the Joint Chiefs, and specifically U.S. Navy leaders who, as Josh Rogin explained, see the measure as necessary “to allow the United States to fully participate in the growing multinational system that governs the open seas.”
We are an Arctic nation. Our intrepid SOS is there to establish our concerns and presence in the region. Her work would be so much easier if we would join the Law of the Sea (LOST) Convention where we have a reserved seat.
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"... ratify the Law of the Sea Convention, which has provided the international framework for exploring these new opportunities in the Arctic. We abide by the international law that undergirds the convention, but we think the United States should be a member, because the convention sets down the rules of the road that protect freedom of navigation, provide maritime security, serve the interests of every nation that relies on sea lanes for commerce and trade, and also sets the framework for exploration for the natural resources that may be present in the Arctic." -HRC, 06-03-12, Tromso Norway
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