China rejects peppered-over UNSC reform plan
(Chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2005-06-10 08:38

China again poured cold water Thursday on the revised version of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reform plan spearheaded by Japan, which describes an additional six new permanent members would not exercise the right of veto until 2020.

Liu Jianchao, China's foreign ministry spokesman, said June 9 in Beijing that China firmly opposes the UNSC reform plan circulated by the G-4 countries and called for a broad consensus on the reform. [fmprc.gov.cn]

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in Beijing June 9 that China firmly opposes the "immature plan" proposed by some countries on UNSC reform. He said that a peppered-over plan will lead the United Nations reform nowhere.

"China is very concerned about this action," Liu said.

The spokesman said that a big difference on UNSC reform still exists among nations, and that all UN member states need to find consensus via consultation. It is important to maintain the unity and long-term interests of the United Nations, while not just by fixing and amending a controversial plan.

Japan, Germany, Brazil and India, known as the Group of Four or G-4, circulated a draft resolution on May 16 proposing giving the four countries permanent seats in the Security Council along with two unnamed African countries.

Other countries like Italy, Republic of Korea, Pakistan and Mexico have opposed the G-4 plan, and put forward their own plan to restructure the UNSC, by adding 10 non-permanent members. China supports the plan.

Of the five current permanent members, China is firmly against Japan’s bid to become a permanent member of UNSC, on account of Japan’s consistent whitewashing of WWII history. Its Primer Minister Koizumi has been paying homage to the Yasukuni Shrine at the center of Tokyo, where 14 WWII Class-A criminals were honored together with 2.5 million war dead.

The Bush administration is reluctant to support Germany’s bid, according to the New York Times.

The G-4 has indicated they will put their revised plan to a vote by the UN General Assembly before the end of June.

China's UN Ambassador, Wang Guangya, said in New York last Wednesday that China objects to putting the G-4 resolution to a vote in a rush, because the UN member states are divided into two opposite groups by the controversial resolution.

"The proposal of an immature plan has deviated the UNSC reform from a right track and has seriously undermined the overall development of the UN reform process and the preparation work for the September UN summit meeting," said Liu Jianchao, noting that "China is worried by and firmly opposes actions like that."

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in the UN reform report submitted to the General Assembly in March, proposed to make a decision on the Seecurity Council expansion before September.

While addressing the 59th session of the General Assembly, Ambassador Wang Guangya said that China supports reforms of the Security Council, but objects to setting a timetable for the process or forcing a vote on any reform plan lacking consensus.

The G-4 plan needs to be approved by two-thirds of the 191 UN member states, or 128 at least, in order to be adopted.