Round The World

New Delhi, 15 February 2011

India’s UNSC Bid

CHINA MIGHT OBSTRUCT

By Monish Tourangbam

Research Scholar, School of International Studies (JNU)

The Foreign Minister S M Krishna’s avoidable faux pas at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) caught media attention and became the talk of social networking sites. He mistakenly read out the opening portions of Portuguese Minister Luis Amado speech, until rectified by India’s envoy to the U.N. Hardeep Singh Puri. Nevertheless, this is a not a grave mistake and as such should not be unnecessarily linked to national esteem and pride. This is a minor public incident, nothing more, nothing less.

More significant, was the fact that the G4 Foreign Ministers from India, Brazil, Germany and Japan present at the UN headquarters, went all out to keep up the steam towards a much-needed reform of the UN, specifically the expansion of the UN Security Council. The effort is made more prominent with three out of the 4 countries of the G4 (except Japan) being at present non-permanent members of the Security Council.

The meeting of the Foreign Ministers forecasted the kind of intensity and consistency with which these countries would move forward in the days to come. There is certain urgency in the way these countries are working together in coordinating support and toning down skepticism among diverse members of the UN. They obviously want to make hay and make their voices heard at the Security Council while they can.

Reportedly, there is no consensus till now on the specifics of the reform, on how and to what extent the reform should take place. But, countries including India with ambitions of sitting on the high table of international power would not be thwarted by such differences at the level of implementation. They would favour to take cue from the fact that there is a general consensus regarding the need for reform of the UN Security Council in response to the changing nature of international politics.

At a juncture when the need is felt for increasing representation from the Asian, African and Latin American worlds, it would do no good for international politics if the permanent seats continue to be reserved for the existing five only. All countries in the G4 have contributed significantly in their own capacities towards keeping the mandate of the UN alive in solving problems around the world.

“Pressure is mounting here at the UN for its membership to finally face the challenge of addressing Security Council reform in a realistic manner, adjusting it to the current geo-political realities,” said Brazil's Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota after the meeting.

It is worth recalling that India has become a non-permanent member after a gap of 19 years and that also at a time, when it is at the forefront of campaigning for UN reform. So, one could expect a concerted and spirited effort from the members of the G4 to make its case heard to all nations. The G4 Ministers also underlined the need for Africa to have a permanent seat on the Council.

Some significant progresses have been reported. For instance, negotiations have shifted from the so-called “Open Ended Working Group” of the 1990s to text-based negotiations, which are headed by Afghanistan’s Ambassador Zahir Tanin. The latest text is a five-page document, which lists the various options of expanding the Council.  

According to sources, the G4 move is largely opposed by the so-called United for Consensus Group led by Pakistan and Italy, which reportedly claimed 15 members but as per Indian officials, the number is down to about half-dozen. In recent times, India’s bid for a permanent seat at the UNSC has been almost a permanent item in all diplomatic engagements of the Indian Government at various levels. New Delhi has tried to increase its zone of friendship and goodwill around its neighbourhood, in the Asian continent and with different Governments around the world.

This assumes more importance with the kind of ambivalence that China, a permanent member of the UNSC employs towards India’s bid for a permanent seat. China has maintained a rehearsed and rather lame assurance. Beijing continues to say, “China attaches great importance to India's status in international affairs as a large developing country, understands and supports India's aspiration to play a greater role in the United Nations, including in the Security Council.”

Recently, the Chinese Establishment came out more critical of the G4 increasing efforts towards early reform of the UN, which could be read as largely aimed at stopping Asian countries like India and Japan from securing equal status at the Security Council. Perhaps, indicative of its own insecurity and rising pressures on Beijing to clear its stand on the issue of UN reform, the Chinese Establishment sought to raise questions over the increasing efforts of the G4 countries.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu commented that there were still “serious differences” among the members of the UN over the nitty-gritty of the issue, and that forcing “premature” reform plan would not only "undermine" the unity of UN member nations, but also harm the process.

Even the G4 countries acknowledge that the implementation process will not be easy but at the same time, they have argued that the need for reform is something that majority of the members understand and support. According to Krishna, the G4 have been highly encouraged by the “assertive and motivated” response during a meeting of the L-69, a diverse group of countries from Africa, Latin America , the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific.

Concerns abound that Beijing’s intransigence might prove a road-block. Apart from China, all the other four countries in the P-5 including the US which had been dilly-dallying has come out strongly in favour of a permanent seat for India in a future expanded Security Council. But New Delhi should not be hugely concerned about this because it also emphasizes Beijing’s insecurity of a rising India.

The fact that Britain, France, Russia and the US supports India’s aspirations for a permanent seat does give the message that for these countries, New Delhi is a responsible international player and the presence of India in the club would not be a liability for them.

Indeed, it is very hard to discern how the statements put forth by the major powers in support of the UN reform would actually reflect in their actions. But for a start, it is important to have a consistent and clear policy statement favouring reform from where the more rigorous process of implementation can be taken forward.

In that sphere, except China, the other permanent members have been quite vocal in their support for a reform even though they acknowledge that the process might take time. Beijing has been only ambiguous and vague till now on this. It is quite discernible that major powers will find it hard to willingly share powers and would not readily share passes to the exclusive power club. However, reform is inevitable in light of the changes in the international system. Thus, it is a necessity if the UN has to remain as effective and relevant as it has remained all these years. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)