In the last year and a half, as anti-China rhetoric in our media has soared up, up, and away, we've literally seen hundreds of references to "China's bullying" and how important it is for us to stand up to it.
One can make a case for China's bullying only by avoiding the context of the Meng Wanzhou debacle. Canada was merely following the rule of law when we detained Meng, etc etc.
What laws is Meng accused of breaking? American sanctions on Iran. What is the legal basis for American sanctions on Iran?
There are none. Zero. Nada. US sanctions are made up extra-legally out of thin air, and then imposed on the world. There is nothing in international law (and plenty against) that permits a country to dictate to other countries who they can and cannot do business with. Legitimate sanctions can only be issued by the UN.
The US is able to impose sanctions on third parties because it has the entirely extra-legal power to make their lives miserable, due to their control over the international finance system. Billions in fines have been successfully extorted from European banks for allegedly violating US sanctions. Everybody knows that's entirely illegal, but everyone plays along because defying US demands means being locked out of the global banking system.
Our hopelessly inept Foreign Minister at the time of Meng's detention was far more interested in currying favour with her "friends" in the Trump administration than she was in upholding international law. The saga of the Two Michaels could have been avoided had Chrystia Freeland stood up to US bullying in December 2018.
No comments:
Post a Comment