The Paradox of Blinking
The world has recently witnessed two major diplomatic blinks: Japan's unconditional release of a Chinese trawler captain whose ship had rammed a Japanese naval patrol boat, and Barack Obama's non-response when Israel refused to extend its freeze on new building construction in the West Bank. Bu, while it is clear who lost in the short run, the long-run outcome of backing down may not be so clear.
SINGAPORE – The world has recently witnessed two major diplomatic blinks. Japan, facing mounting pressure from China, unconditionally released a Chinese trawler captain whose ship had rammed a Japanese naval patrol boat. And US President Barack Obama did nothing when Israel refused to extend its freeze on new building construction in the West Bank, causing Israeli West Bank settlers to rejoice.