A map suggests, for instance, that the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea exist close to the Philippines and quite a lot farther away from China. On seven of the Spratly Islands, China has built a platform, usually big enough to hold a helicopter base, a dock or a radar installation. In 2013 the Philippines took China to arbitration under the UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea. The job of the current leaders, in their own minds, is to recreate an empire — even though, as French acknowledges, the empire is partly imaginary. When the West deals with China, we are dealing with people who believe firmly in the inevitable glories of their future.

Source: National Post April 21, 2017 14:37 UTC