Fu Cong Sets Out Four Points at the Security Council: the US-Israel-Iran Conflict Must Not Drag On, and an Immediate Ceasefire Is the Prerequisite
Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, set out four points in a statement to a UN Security Council open meeting on the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf on November 13. First, the war must be resolutely brought to an end. There are no winners in war and conflict, he said; the prerequisite for resolving the region's issues is an immediate ceasefire, an end to the fighting, and a halt to the unlawful use of force and unilateral military actions. The conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran must not be allowed to drag on, he said, and all parties should act responsibly toward their people and history, work in the same direction and achieve a comprehensive ceasefire at an early date instead of engaging in armed confrontation again; parties in Yemen should also exercise restraint.
Second, a political settlement must be pursued. Fu said China appreciates the tireless mediation efforts of Qatar, Pakistan and others, and encourages the United States and Iran to firmly choose peace, return to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding and resume dialogue and negotiations as soon as possible to reach a comprehensive agreement. Parties in Yemen should resolve their differences through dialogue and relaunch the political settlement process, and the Security Council should remain objective and impartial and play its due role in de-escalating the situation and promoting peace talks.
Third, the international rule of law must be upheld. Fu said all parties should uphold multilateralism and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter; the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of all countries in the region should be respected, and civilians and civilian facilities must not be targeted. Unimpeded navigation through key international shipping lanes is closely linked to peace in the surrounding regions, particularly the littoral states, he said; China advocates exercising navigational rights under international law in good faith, supports settling shipping-lane disputes through dialogue and consultation on an equal footing, and opposes the politicization, militarization and instrumentalization of key shipping lanes. Fourth, security governance must be improved. The Middle East and the Gulf should not be an arena for major-power rivalry and geopolitical conflict, he said; the people of the region should be masters of their own affairs, and China supports regional countries in building a new security architecture in line with their peoples' long-term interests. He added that the Chinese government's special envoy on the Middle East issue is conducting shuttle diplomacy in the region, and that China stands ready to play a constructive role in helping the region emerge from the shadow of war.
The meeting was convened at Bahrain's request. UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari and Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi briefed the Council, and Iran's representative took part. GSM previously reported the meeting's shipping dimension: transits through the Strait of Hormuz remain about 65 percent below pre-conflict levels. Fu's statement was China's fullest account at the meeting of its positions on ending the war, a political settlement and the shipping-lane dispute.
(Source: Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations)
Source: Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于纽约的联合国安理会会议厅（资料图）。照片：MusikAnimal 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The United Nations Security Council chamber in New York (file photo). Photo by MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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