The South China Sea is a region of growing international importance and growing conflict. It occupies an area of about 3.5 million sq km and it is bounded on the north by Southern China and Taiwan, on the east by the Philippines, on the south by Borneo and Malaysia, and on the west by Vietnam. It constitutes the only sea which China has direct access too after it lost direct access to the Pacific ocean and the Sea of Japan as a result of treaties with Russia. The South China sea is characterised by a large number of small islands, reefs and cays (the Paracel Islands offshore Vietnam and south of Hainan, and the Spratley islands in the middle of the SCS many of which are barely above the water lines. But, since 1948 China has claimed sovereignty of many of these islands and reefs through historic fishing claims and it has produced something called the 'Nine dash line' which (shaped rather like a cows tongue) extends south west from Taiwan to embrace almost all of the South China sea, even extending to James Shoal which is just 25 nautical miles north of Brunei. China has become increasingly assertive in its territorial claims and has engaged in extensive island construction by creating artificial islands on reefs some with harbours and airfields. It has also engaged in a number of aggressive maritime activities against Filippino and Vietnamese fishermen. In 2013 the Philippines took China to international arbitration under the UN law of the sea convention UNCLOS to challenge many of China's claims. The result in 2016 was supportive of the Philippines but China (who did not participate in the arbitration refused to accept it. Today, China is one of the two major naval powers and the dominant economic and political power in South East Asia and it views the South China Sea as its own backyard and the conflicts are likely to continue. https://pca-cpa.org/cn/cases/7/

Whatever the arguments about causes, there is no doubt that the world has been getting considerably warmer over the last 50 years and much warmer over the last 20 years. Mean average global temperature has risen by 1.4 degree C over the last 100 years and it has now speeded up and almost all the hottest years in the last 100 years have been in the last 20 years. Mean annual temperatures are now increasing by 0.2C per decade. Recent years have seen rising temperatures in many parts of the world and some places are now becoming almost uninhabitable. But the increase in temperatures has not been geographically even and nor have its effects. The polar regions have been warming much faster than other areas, and as snow and ice cover shrinks so does the ability to reflect sunlight. The permafrost areas of northern Russia and Canada are beginning to thaw. Europe and the Middle East have also warmed fast and some parts of the world are now becoming uninhabitable. This has major consequences in terms of agriculture, social breakdown and mass migration. Global warming also generates warmer oceans and rising sea levels. We are seeing the effects of this in the increase in the number of major hurricanes and storms in the Atlantic hitting the East coast of north America and then Western Europe with consequent flooding. But the real risks are in areas like the Bay of Bengal where tropical cyclones generate massive flooding in low lying Bangladesh. Some Pacific island states are also under considerable threat from rising sea levels as are big cities like London, New York and Shanghai. The costs of global warming are unequally distributed and are being felt most strongly in many of the world's poorer areas like the Sahel belt of Africa where more frequent droughts are displacing millions of people. This is generating arguments for international climate justice.

Suggesting that America is an empire may seem a bit bizarre as America does not have any colonies at present but if we take a wider perspective, America has a large number of overseas territories and possessions (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands), and even more overseas military bases: in South Korea, The Philippines, Japan, Okinawa, Germany, Turkey and of course the UK where, until recently, it stored nuclear weapons. And until very recently, Afghanistan and Iraq where the US had bases. It also possesses large naval fleet in the Mediterranean and the Pacific and it has intervened directly or indirectly to overthrow or support the governments of a significant number of countries ranging from Iraq, Nicaragua, Honduras, Chile and Grenada. In addition, the USA has purchased or annexed a number of territories along the way - Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and others. But equally, the US has exercised global economic dominance for at least 80 years, and arguably nearer 100. Nor must we forget its extensive cultural reach, through Hollywood, and indirectly through brands like McDonalds, Coca Cola and Starbucks. But, since the arrival of President Trump in early 2025, many of these givens have been thrown into doubt. There are questions over American support for NATO, over continuation of American economic and political hegemony and the introduction of tariffs has damaged enemies and allies alike (and may significantly damage the USA itself). So, the question of an American Empire is an important one which raises many issues