Daily Archives: 3 November 2015

South China Sea

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In a Wall Street Journal article opening with on the Republic of Korea’s Defense Minister Han Min-Koo remarks about the need for freedom of sea and air navigation in and over the South China Sea to be settled in accordance with international law, and Japan’s participation in trilateral talks with the RoK and the People’s Republic of China on a host of questions, the PRC’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi had this to say:

I wonder what Japan has to do with the South China Sea[.]

This deliberately disingenuous remark—the Sea “hosts” sea lanes that carry trade to Japan as well as the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and us—requires Wang to answer the question of what the PRC has to do with the South China Sea? Other than its naked grab for it, I mean.

Disappointment

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And enthusiasm. Here’s an interesting remark in Colleen McCain Nelson’s and Peter Nicholas’ piece in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal concerning Vice President Joe Biden’s supporters, donors, and then-potential donors and their possible support for the remaining Democratic Party Presidential candidates:

Many of them face a Bidenesque gut check: will they be able to commit heart and soul to their new candidate?

Because their remaining choices are Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O’Malley, and folding their money and putting it back in their pockets against a future day with better candidates.

The gut check may well be limited to the primary season. Jon Cooper, the Draft Biden Finance Chairman, said:

It would be nice if I felt passionate about a candidate, and right now I’m not feeling the passion. There’s a lot I like about Bernie Sanders, a lot I like about Hillary Clinton. Whether I get excited enough about any of the campaigns to devote time and energy during the primary is the question. And right now it’s not happening.

Still, money not raised during the primaries is money not available at the start of the general campaign.