Philippines tells China to mind its own business over maritime drills
CNN
China has no business telling the Philippines what it can or cannot do within its waters, Manila's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday, rejecting Beijing's opposition to its ongoing coast guard exercises.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, where about $3 trillion worth of ship-borne trade passes each year. In 2016, an arbitration tribunal in The Hague ruled that claim, which Beijing bases on its old maps, was inconsistent with international law. Philippines Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters that Beijing had "no authority or legal basis to prevent us from conducting these exercises" in the South China Sea because "their claims ... have no basis".President-elect Donald Trump is preparing to dust off a series of centuries-old laws and legal theories to drive his first-year agenda – particularly on the border and birthright citizenship – hoping history will be on his side when the inevitable legal challenges make their way to the Supreme Court.
Despite the symbolism that might be associated with exploding a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, law enforcement officials said Thursday they were still trying to piece together why a five-time Bronze Star recipient and new father would orchestrate the New Year’s Day blast.