New Delhi
23 September 2006
China would like the next Secretary General of United Nations (UN)
to be from Asia but will hedge its bets on the candidate most likely to succeed Kofi
Annan. India has nominated UN Under Secretary General for Public Affairs Shashi
Tharoor for the top job.
Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Yuxi says Beijing will decide which way it should vote
only "at the last minute" after "studying the situation". His cryptic response to the
specific question about China's position on Tharoor's nomination was, "China would not
vote for someone who is going to fail", referring obliquely to the two straw polls in which
Shashi Tharoor trailed the other nominees. "India is our neighbour and we encourage
Tharoor too," he observed at a recent news conference, when pressed further on the
subject.
China's reluctance to back Tharoor comes close on the heels of similar remarks on the
India-United States civilian nuclear deal. A Chinese official has said that the US and
India should abide by rules of the non-proliferation regime. China has also indicated a
reluctance for expanding the UN Security Council to include certain countries. India and
three other countries have staked claim on a permanent UNSC seat.
In the most recent informal poll of the 15 UN SC members, South Korea's Foreign
Minister Ban Ki-moon came in first followed by Tharoor. Thailand's Deputy Prime
Minister Surakiart Sathirathai was third. He was trailed by Jordan's UN Ambassador
Prince Zeid al Hussein and former UN disarmament chief Jayantha Dhanapala of Sri
Lanka.
China has since indicated that the coup against Thailand's prime minister complicated
the candidacy of the Thai candidate. China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya has said,
"I think definitely the situation in Thailand makes this issue more complicated."
Secretary General Kofi Annan's second five-year term ends on December 31.
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