Dear Editor,

China has just said it will reject and ignore a ruling at the International Court in The Hague regarding its territorial claims in the South China Sea, which was not in its favour, and brought against it by the Philippines. It also said that it will continue to defend its claim. China claims 90 per cent of the South China Sea. The ruling was binding, but the Court has no power of enforcement.

Both China and the Philippines are signatories of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the ruling was made by its arbitration tribunal. Other countries which have claims are Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. However, the Philippines is the first to take China to court. The South China Sea is a lucrative trade route and unusually rich in natural resources.

Guatemala will take a similar decision as China’s should our case go the The Hague and it gets an unfavourable ruling. Irrespective of its touted claim that it’ll accept an ICJ ruling even if it favours Belize. In view of Guatemala’s historical intransigence, greed, aggressive persistence, cunning and the various Machiavellian forces supporting it, anyone believing this is living in a fool’s paradise.

Therese Nweke