G-4 dividing UNSC members: China

He stated this during an interaction with a visiting media delegation from South Asia, including India, when asked about China’s stance on New Delhi’s bid for the permanent membership of the UNSC.

Shen noted that the G-4 has been ‘‘working with other countries on a big scale’’. ‘‘In fact, their activities have already divided the member nations of the UNSC,’’ he said.

‘‘We hope the G-4 is fully aware of the seriousness of the issue. When the whole issue of UNSC reform is still very divisive, it is not appropriate for us to talk about who should be a permanent member and who should not,’’ Shen said.

Though he noted that China and India have upgraded their relations to a strategic level during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to India in April, he avoided any mention of Beijing’s reported backing of New Delhi’s bid for a permanent UNSC seat during the trip.

While supporting the reform of the UN, including UNSC, Shen said countries campaigning for a permanent seat should not overlook other issues facing the world body. ‘‘We should not overlook the reform in other aspects. We should also avoid dividing the members just because of the reform of the UNSC,’’ shen said, hours after China released its first-ever ‘Position Paper’ on UN reforms.

At the same time, he stressed that China believes that the UNSC needs to be enlarged so as to meet the new requirements in the world. However, such reform should be conducive to enhancing the effectiveness of the UNSC and offer opportunities for developing countries, particularly small and medium-sized countries to be on the top global body.

Since there was no unanimity on how to enlarge the UNSC, Shen said the G-4 and the group led by Pakistan and Italy as well as others should engage in comprehensive and thorough consultations so as to avoid dividing the UN member nations.

Asked whether the new members should have veto power, Shen said it should be discussed thoroughly. ‘‘The fact that the current permanent members hold veto power is a historical legacy,’’ he said, adding that China supports in-depth consultations and discussions of UN members so that differences on the issue could be narrowed.

Earlier, in its ‘Position Paper’ on UN reforms, China said it supported the reform of the UN under the principle of ‘‘most broadly-based consensus’’ without any time limit but with enhanced representation of developing nations.

In the paper, China emphasised that reforms should meet the needs of developing countries. According to the paper, the UN reform, which will be a major topic on a global summit meeting in September to mark its 60th birth anniversary, should be in the interest of multilateralism, and enhance UN’s authority and efficiency, as well as its capacity to deal with new threats and challenges.

Reforms should safeguard UN Charter’s principles, especially those of sovereign equality, non-interference in internal affairs, peaceful resolution of conflicts and strengthening international cooperation, etc, the paper said. —PTI

G-4 to delay UNSC draft resolution

TOKYO: G-4 countries, India, Japan, Brazil, and Germany, will delay the submission of a draft resolution on UN reforms to the General Assembly at least till next month, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura has said. ‘‘We’ll appropriately judge when to submit the draft resolution after analysing the outcomes of separate summits among African and Caribbean countries planned for early July,’’ he told reporters. G-4 countries are trying to enlist support for the draft resolution, which calls for enlargement of the UN Security Council. The G-4 also seeks other UN member states to become co-sponsors of the draft resolution. He dismissed a view that the G-4’s attempt is facing difficulties, saying the group has said the draft resolution should be submitted to the General Assembly ‘‘by summer’’. A senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official said recently, the positions of African and Caribbean nations will be key factors to whether the Security Council will be expanded in the way the G-4 wishes. —PTI