Japan 'totally' unqualified for permanent UN Security Council seat: China

ISTANBUL

China has reiterated its opposition to Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, accusing the longtime rival of posing "new threats" to regional peace and stability and being "totally" unqualified, Chinese media reported on Saturday.

Addressing a UN General Assembly Friday session on negotiations over equitable representation and an increase in Security Council membership, China's UN Ambassador Fu Cong said Japan is unfit for a permanent seat on the council, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Fu said Japan has "persistently refused to reflect on its wartime crimes of aggression, openly trampled on the postwar international order, and interfered in the sovereignty of other countries, thereby posing new threats to regional peace and stability."

Such a country is "totally unqualified" for a permanent seat on the Security Council, he argued.

Japan is a proponent of reforms to the council, but has not responded to China’s accusations.

Tensions between Beijing and Tokyo have escalated since last November, when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could legally constitute a “survival-threatening situation,” potentially allowing Japan to exercise the right of collective self-defense. The remarks triggered a backlash from China.

Outlining three "key" points for Security Council reform, Fu said that the council must not become a “club” of major powers, and reform should not benefit only a very small number of countries.

Secondly, he went on to say, reform should "genuinely" enhance the representation and voice of developing countries by enabling more small and medium-sized states with independent foreign policies to enter the council, and in particular, historical injustices suffered by Africa must be corrected, with priority and special arrangements made to address Africa’s legitimate demands.

"Third, reform should not be confined to the current global landscape; rather it should be planned with strategic vision and a long-term perspective," he added.