PRETORIA, Jan 14: South Africa and China said on Monday that the international struggle against terrorism, launched last September by the United States, should be fought under the banner of the United Nations.

Briefing journalists after talks here, visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and his South African counterpart Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma both stressed the need for the world body to take the lead in the global coalition against terrorism.

While Chinese support for a new economic initiative for Africa also played a part in the three-hour talks, they said they were mostly laying the groundwork on that front for later meetings.

Tang, who arrived in South Africa late on Saturday, urged those involved in the war on terrorism to avoid focussing only on one region, country or religion.

Tang said the campaign would be “a drawn-out and arduous process”.

“Victory on the battlefields of Afghanistan does not mean that the struggle or battle is over,” Tang said, referring to the current US-led military campaign in Afghanistan.

“China does not agree with some arguments or practices. For example, some forces advocate that they should lump together the terrorist issue with a specific region, country, religion or ethnic group,” the Chinese foreign minister said.

“Nor can we agree to such attempts made by some forces to expand the scope of the anti-terrorist struggle in light of their own strategic interests or political needs or try to transfer the battlefield of anti-terrorism.

“I don’t think this will be conducive to regional peace and stability and that of the world at large,” Tang said.

Asked whether his remarks were directed at the United States, Tang said: “You can only represent your own understanding of what I have said because I have not mentioned or singled out any particular country.

“I was just talking in a very extensive manner.”

Dlamini-Zuma said South Africa had thought from the start that the United Nations should be the driving force behind the war on terrorism.

“The terrorism struggle has to be fought under a united international front and it is also important for the United Nations to play a role. It should not be individual countries, but the Security Council which bears the responsibility for our collective security,” she said.—AFP