China supports India''s ‘desire’ to play bigger role in UN

Beijing, April 13

China on Monday reiterated its support to India's playing a bigger role in the UN but stopped short of an outright backing for the bid to secure a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

"We attach great importance to the role and status of India as a major developing country in regional and international affairs," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told the media here, endorsing PM Narendra Modi's statement that India had a right to be in the UNSC.

"We understand and support India's desire to play a big role in multi-lateral institutions including the UN. The Chinese side will continue to make efforts with all parties to strive for a package plan that accommodates concerns and interests of all parties through extensive democratic consultation," Hong said.

Asked whether the "package plan" referred to a seat in the UNSC, Hong clarified that it is mainly about the reforming of the powerful body.

"Reforms of the UNSC concern a wide range of elements as well as the interest of all members of the Security Council. We maintain that we should strive for consensus through democratic consultation," he said.

"The package plan is mainly about the security council reforms. The UN is a very big organisation. Reform should not be taken place only in the Security Council but also in the field of social and economic areas," he said.

Hong said that China supports the reform of the UNSC to increase its representation to “give more voice to developing countries”.

"The reform of the Security Council bears on the long term development of UN and immediate interests of all members, he said. 

China is the only member of the permanent five of the UNSC that is yet to fully endorse its support. The other four — United States, Russia, Britain and France — have, in principle, backed New Delhi's push for UNSC permanent membership.

This is, however, the first time Beijing has spoke of a package plan.

However, Chinese officials say that Beijing’s main problem is with Japan’s, and not India’s, permanent membership, to the Security Council due to the long-standing feud between the two Asian giants. They, however, add that India should not join hands with Tokyo to stake its claim.

With Pakistan, China’s close ally and India’s neighbour, opposing India’s claim for a seat, China has been caught in a dilemma about backing the demand.

India along with Brazil, Germany and Japan is part of G-4 countries campaigning for the Permanent Membership in the UNSC.

In the joint statement issued after the Foreign Ministers meeting of Russia, India and China (RIC) in February here, China and Russia reiterated the importance they attached to the status of India in international affairs and supported its aspiration to play a greater role in the United Nations.

Modi calls for permanent seat in UNSC

India has the “right” to be in the UN Security Council and the days of “begging” for it are gone, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, as he pitched for a permanent seat in the powerful world body.

Addressing a congregation of NRIs here before winding up his four-day tour of France, Modi last night said India had made lot of sacrifices for world peace since the World War I and even after the UN was founded.

It has been the largest contributor to the peacekeeping forces across the world, he said.

“Still, India continues to yearn for a (permanent) seat in the UN Security Council. I urge the world... it is time to respect the peacekeeping efforts. It is the right of the sentiments of Mahatma Gandhi and Gautam Buddha. Those days are gone when India had to beg. Now, our nation wants its right,” he told the gathering of about 3,000 Indians.

“There is hardly any other country which has such moral authority as the land of Mahatma Gandhi and Buddha. I hope that when the United Nations celebrates its 70th anniversary (this year), it will especially think about this,” the PM said.

Modi referred to his visit earlier in the day to a war memorial in the Lille region of France set up as a tribute to about 10,000 Indians who got martyred while fighting alongside France in the World War I.

Modi said he wanted to send out a message to the world to realise that Indians have been ready to sacrifice their lives for peace since as long as one century.

“I want the world to know that 14 lakh Indians put their lives at risk by participating in the World War I...Who were they fighting for? Not for India or expansion of India ...Thousands of years of India's history is testimony to the fact that it has never indulged in aggression,” Modi said.

“Indian soldiers fought shoulder-to-shoulder with France...They fought for somebody else,” he added. “Sometimes, history is forgotten. Those who forget history will lose their right to write one,” the Prime Minister said, adding that, "India is known for its sacrifices...One can fight for oneself, but to die for others is different.” — PTI

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