Angry Then Apologetic Tweets From Philippines Foreign Minister Highlight Diplomatic Tensions in South China Sea
A series of alternately profane and obsequious tweets from the Philippines’ foreign minister were an unusually public demonstration of the diplomatic tightrope Southeast Asian countries walk regarding the South China Sea. China claims the entire sea as its own—an assertion a 2016 United Nation’s tribunal found “has no basis in law”—and has repurposed a number of reclaimed islands and reefs to stake its claim. Countries bordering the South China Sea often voice complaints about China’s revanchism but generally mute their criticism for a variety of reasons, including recently access to...
