Talk reports underline US has own agenda

The United States and some of its allies are already eying Tuesday as a day of triumph, as they believe the Arbitral Tribunal in the South China Sea arbitration will rule against China in a case unilaterally brought by the Philippines over their South China Sea dispute. Much fanfare can be expected should the farce directed by Washington finally reach the climax it anticipates.

But before it makes any ballyhoo depicting China as a bully disrespectful of international law, the US should bear in mind it will be standing on shaky ground should it choose to trumpet the observance of international rules.

It has yet to ratify the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea that it claims to seek to safeguard. And its track record in respecting international laws is poor. The report of the United Kingdom's official inquiry into the Iraq War shows how the US and its allies bypassed the United Nations to illegally invade that country, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians.