Biden makes unannounced trip to Kyiv ahead of Ukraine invasion anniversary; pledges $500 million in new military aid

Biden makes unannounced trip to Kyiv ahead of Ukraine invasion anniversary; pledges $500 million in new military aid

• Air raid sirens blared across the Ukrainian capital as Mr. Biden visited Kyiv, but there were no reports of Russian missile or air strikes
• President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a gesture of solidarity that comes days before the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the country.
• Speaking alongside Mr. Zelenskyy at Marinsky Palace, Mr. Biden recalled the fears nearly a year ago that Russia’s invasion forces might quickly take the Ukrainian capital. “One year later, Kyiv stands,” Mr. Biden said, jamming his finger for emphasis on his podium decorated with the U.S. and Ukrainian flags. “And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you.”

More sabre-rattling, more isolation

• Chinese muscularity in the South China Sea is leading to a growing chorus of protest
• The Philippines invoked the dispute settlement mechanism of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 2013 to test the legality of China’s ‘nine-dash line’ regarding the disputed Spratlys. In response, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague decreed in its July 12, 2016 judgment that the line had “no legal basis.” China dismissed the judgment as “null and void.”

Key issues:

• The South China Sea (SCS) is important not just to its littoral countries. It has been a transit point for trade since early medieval times, contains abundantly rich fisheries, and is a repository of mineral deposits and hydrocarbon reserves.

The PCA verdict

• The PCA (Permanent Court of Arbitration) award undermined the Chinese claim. It held that none of the features of the Spratlys qualified them as islands, and there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to the resources within the ‘nine-dash line’. The UNCLOS provides that islands must sustain habitation and the capacity for non-extractive economic activity. Reefs and shoals that are unable to do so are considered low-tide elevations.
• The award implied that China violated the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). It noted that China had aggravated the situation by undertaking land reclamation and construction, and had harmed the environment, and violated its obligation to preserve the ecosystem. China dismissed the award as “a political farce under the pretext of law.”