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China reduces embassy staff in Iraq

P.S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE FEB. 10 China today led the way in East Asia as countries in the region began a reality check on the possibility of a U.S.-led war against Iraq any time soon. For some time now, China has been treading a fine line across the diplomatic minefield as assess how best to cope with Washington's `overdrive' towards war, as an option, in dealing with Iraq's profile as a `proliferator' of weapons of mass destruction. It is in this context that Beijing has announced its decision to scale down its embassy staff in Baghdad as a precautionary measure.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Zhang Qiyue, said in Beijing today that the growing tension in Iraq had necessitated the decision to ensure the safety of China's nationals. As of now, only those not required for emergency duties would be withdrawn.

This step does not really call for any deviation by China from its current line of encouraging Baghdad to comply with the relevant U.N. resolutions and of suggesting that the U.S. pay due attention to the work of the international weapons inspectors as regards Iraq, according to diplomatic observers.

Several South Korean companies began pulling out of Iraq on sighting `war clouds' over its horizon, according to authentic indications in Seoul. Japan, which too began assessing the overall situation in Iraq, called for global unity in addressing the WMD issue in relation to Baghdad.

With Pyongyang continuing to loom large on the political consciousness of East Asia, despite the escalating Iraq crisis, it was announced in Seoul today that South Korea and the U.S. would establish an inter-govermental consultative mechanism to address the North Korean nuclear issue.

The mandate of the proposed consultative body would cover the promotion of ties between Seoul and Washington too.

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