The Hindu : China keeps U.S. guessing on draft

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 14, 2003

International

International

China keeps U.S. guessing on draft

By P. S. Suryanarayana

BEIJING March 13. China today amplified its opposition to any new resolution that might be tabled at the U.N. Security Council to secure a mandate for waging war against Iraq in the context of "bench-marks'' being set by the U.K. to disarm Baghdad of its capabilities to produce and deploy weapons of mass destruction.

China did not indicate again whether it might either exercise its special right or merely abstain from voting on any such resolution. Keeping the international community guessing on this score, the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Kong Quan, said at a press conference that the existing full-scope resolution 1441, which served as the mandate for the U.N. weapons-inspections , had "not (been) exhausted'' yet. This resolution could even be enhanced, he said and underlined that China remained opposed to any military option for disarming Iraq.

Indicating that China would not draw a Maginot Line of diplomatic defences on the Iraq question at the U.N., unlike France and Russia in their efforts to assert their status as America's equals in the Security Council, Mr. Kong said China had "taken note of'' the latest British proposals without having to shift its stand as a result. He maintained that China's stand should be seen in the context of the U.N. Charter and not the Sino-American ties which remained in a state of "very good momentum''.

On a broad front, China would favour initiatives to `safeguard' the ``authority of the United Nations'' in the context of the U.S.' efforts to bypass the global organisation, if considered necessary, to deal with Iraq as a designated `proliferator'.

To a question from The Hindu on the moves for a U.N. Security Council summit, the Chinese Foreign Office Spokesman, Kong Quan, said that Beijing was `studying' the relevant proposals while remaining in close consultations with the countries concerned. China was eager, he noted, to preserve the solidarity and authority of the Council on critical issues of international concern, including the present crisis over Iraq.

Mr. Kong's observations can be seen as emphasising China's diplomatic preferences in a fast-changing global strategic environment.

In U.S., a White House spokesman had said that the U.S. might even think of alternative international organisations if the U.N. were to marginalise itself in managing the Iraq crisis.

Addressing the nuances, Mr. Kong said that Beijing would like the parties concerned to display not only ``courage and determination'' but also `wisdom'. Yet, resolution 1441 was still the last word of the international community on Iraq, he said.

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