China's attempt to make the South China Sea their territorial waters and provoke a war have been put off as China backs off from enforcing their claim (without retracting their claim):
China's assurance that it will not board foreign ships passing through the disputed West Philippine Sea is a welcome development, an Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) general said Friday.
AFP Western Command chief Lt. Gen. Juancho Sabban said Beijing should follow international laws.
"We should stick to international laws and China should respect our territory and sovereignty," Sabban told media at Camp Aguinaldo.
It is nice to know that the Chinese sailors won't be getting out of their boat to board other ships in that region. For now.
I wouldn't count on China simply "respecting" the territory and sovereignty of other nations no matter what international law says in your favor. China's respect and the capability to defend what you claim will go a lot farther than just respect, no?
