PHILIPPINES REJECTS CHINA TALKS: The link goes to a Reuters report. Why reject bilateral talks? China demanded an unacceptable condition: the Philippines couldn’t mention the The Permanent Court of Arbitration’s decision that nixed most of China’s claims in the South China Sea. This morning StrategyPage’s Jim Dunnigan was a bit pithier: “…the Philippines does not consider the situation a dispute but rather a case of unwarranted Chinese aggression. Now the Philippines has international law on its side.”