Need to defuse tension in the region

IN the next few weeks, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague will rule on the case brought by the Philippines against China concerning the legality of the latter’s “nine-dotted line” claim over the South China Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).

I hope I am wrong but the outcome is predictable, bearing in mind the strong lobby and assertive efforts by the United States and some European countries to favour the Philippines.