BEIJING, Aug 7: China will veto a plan to enlarge the United Nations Security Council if the reform measure goes to a vote, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. The so-called Group of Four — India, Germany, Japan and Brazil — have called for adding 10 new seats to the present 15-member body, which is consisted of five permanent members with veto power and 10 chosen by region who rotate for two-year terms.
“To uphold the interests of most developing nations, and to preserve the long-term interests of the United Nations, China will resolutely vote no if the G-4 proposal is put up for a vote,” the Foreign Ministry said in an official statement. The proposal calls for adding six permanent seats without veto powers — four for the G-4 nations themselves and two for Africa — and four seats on rotating two-year terms.
“The G-4 resolution fails to consider the interests of the majority of nations, including African countries, and has been opposed and questioned by many nations and cannot gain support,” the ministry said. On Thursday, China’s UN ambassador Wang Guangya said his country and the United States had agreed to work together to defeat plans to expand the prestigious Security Council.
The African Union, at a meeting in Addis Ababa the same day, voted to reject the G-4 proposal and ratify its own plan for enlarging the council. China’s Foreign Ministry suggested the G-4 nations withdraw their resolution for further consultation among countries and warned against attempts to push through a vote.
“Any forceful vote would only sharpen contradictions, affect the unity of (UN) member states and undermine the course of the progress of reform,” it said. China, along with Britain, France, Russia and the United States, is a permanent Security Council member with veto power.
Japan, Germany, Brazil and India’s bid to expand the United Nations Security Council appears doomed following Africa’s steadfast refusal to join forces with them in their quest for permanent council seats. —Reuters
