View from China: The emerging axis of lawlessness – the European Union, United States and Israel

Pic.: globes.co.il

From Ukraine to the Caribbean and Middle East, we are witnessing the application of the law of the jungle by the West and its ally, stresses ‘The South China Morning Post’.

It’s not for nothing that John Locke famously wrote that “life, liberty and property” are inalienable rights. The West, after all, has taught the world that property ownership, legally obtained, is sacrosanct. But what the West has imposed, it can also break. That is the real meaning of the rules-based international order, as opposed to international law: do what I say, not as I do.

So the hardline European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been pressuring member states to support the seizure of more than €190 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets – currently held in Belgium – to fund her proxy war in Ukraine. That’s because the European Union is running out of resources and the United States has refused to provide more support. The EU has just moved to freeze the Russian assets indefinitely as a precursor to full seizure.

Though any such move by the EU would be illegal, von der Leyen’s even more hardline foreign minister Kaja Kallas, has reportedly dismissed the legal concerns and consequences in a private meeting with a group of EU lawmakers, according to numerous reports. “Which court was Russia going to go to? Which judge would ever rule for Russia on this?” she reportedly claimed.

Well, in October, South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in favour of a Moscow Arbitration Court judgment ordering Google International to repay 10 billion roubles (HK$972 million) in a bankruptcy case. It authorised the seizure of the company’s South African assets to comply with the Russian court order.

Most independent legal experts have observed the EU proposal, if carried out, would violate international law. They have pointed to the Belgium-Luxembourg-Russia Investment Treaty of 1989, which protects the assets of investors and states against expropriation and uncompensated seizure.

No wonder Belgium, along with Italy, Hungary, Malta and Bulgaria, are worried and resisting EU pressure. They have warned an asset seizure would expose Belgium and the entire euro zone to unquantifiable risks and liabilities. After all, who would trust the EU again with their financial assets?

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the White House has apparently acted with imperial arrogance by warning the International Criminal Court (ICC) not to investigate President Donald Trump or any of his top officials for war crimes. The explosive Reuters exclusive also said the Trump administration has repeated its demands for the ICC to cease any investigation into alleged war crimes committed during Israel’s war in Gaza, and US troops previously operating in Afghanistan. Otherwise, it will impose further sanctions against ICC judges and officials.

To force compliance, the Reuters report continues, the Trump administration has demanded that the ICC amend its founding document known as the Rome Statute, established as an international treaty, to ensure blanket immunity for US and Israeli officials.

Since September, the US military has been carrying out lethal strikes against alleged drug-carrying small boats in the Caribbean, killing at least 87 people. Most independent legal and military experts and some members of the US Congress consider them extrajudicial killings potentially amounting to war crimes.

The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza war. More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Hamas carried out terrorist attacks inside Israel in October 2023.

As Israel’s closest ally, Washington has so far sanctioned nine ICC officials including judges and prosecutors.

The second Trump administration has already sanctioned Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, an unprecedented move against a UN official. Now, in another Reuters exclusive, it is reportedly preparing another unprecedented move to hit UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA with terrorism-related sanctions, potentially putting the lives and welfare of millions of Palestinians at risk.

It’s highly unlikely any senior Israeli or American officials will ever face the court. Israel will not tolerate it; America has an actual law that authorises the president to commit troops to rescue any military personnel or officials of the US and its close allies from detention at the Hague.

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