Washington behaves like a gangster who's judge and jury of rule-breaking behavior

Power has not endowed the United States government with the decency and dedication to global responsibility that its claims to the moral high ground warrant. Instead, it has only served to make it more brazen in defying the rules and norms of diplomatic behavior.

This was once again in evidence in a speech that US Vice-President Kamala Harris delivered to US personnel stationed at the US naval facility at Yokosuka, outside of Tokyo, which is one of its largest military bases overseas.

Calling the pot black, Harris claimed that "China is undermining key elements of the international rules-based order" and said the US "will continue to oppose any unilateral change to the status quo", falsely implying that it is China rather than the US and the authorities in Taipei that is attempting to do so.