The "rules-based international order" is a dull phrase beloved by diplomats that can sound like a meaningless cliché. Mr Boris Johnson, Britain's Prime Minister, even briefly considered instructing his officials to stop using the term.
But if anyone doubts the need for a rules-based international order, they should consider what has just happened to Ryanair flight FR4978 from Greece to Lithuania. The plane was crossing Belarus when it was forced to land in Minsk - allowing the government there to detain Mr Roman Protasevich, a prominent Belarusian journalist, who has chronicled the brutal repression in his home country.
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