Page 2 of 2 There's method in China's peace
push By Rebecca
Jackson
activities under the UN Charter,
China sets a glorious example."
China has
long supported multilateralism in international
relations. Increasingly China sees its own
security and well-being as intricately interlinked
with that of other countries. The UN is seen as an
effective platform for collective action to deal
with the threats, and the best venue to exercise a
multilateralist policy. As Yin He, associate
professor at the China Peacekeeping Training
Center, has said, greater
involvement in peacekeeping can yield valuable
political currency to promote its multilateral
agenda.
China's involvement in
peacekeeping can help strengthen the UN's
authority and serve to balance against an increase
in unilateral behavior, especially by the US.
What's more, as Bates Gill points out, following
the NATO bombing of Kosovo, greater involvement in
peacekeeping is a way for Beijing to ensure that
they are involved in the design of international
intervention efforts more in line with their
policies.
Doubts have been raised about
China's real interest in undertaking peacekeeping
missions for humanitarian reasons. Indeed, it is
doubtful whether an absolute "normative shift" has
occurred in Beijing's thinking on peacekeeping.
But China isn't alone on that count.
Regardless of the real reasons behind
China's increased participation, there have been
real humanitarian benefits from it - not only
outside China, but also inside, where involvement
in peacekeeping has arguably opened China up to
international influence on human rights norms.
Where next for
China? There may be limits to China's
participation over the coming years. In theory,
China sees multilateralism as the best way to
ensure security for all. But when their vital
interests, including Taiwan, are thought to be at
risk, officials in Beijing will resort to viewing
their country's security and that of the rest of
the world as two separate coins rather than two
sides of the same coin.
For example,
although China has publicly reprimanded Myanmar
recently over its crackdown on protests, it has
consistently blocked action against the country,
arguing that sanctions could further destabilize
the country and concerned about repercussions at
home. It is highly unlikely that in the near
future China will agree to action in a part of the
world so close to home.
The Myanmar case
illustrates that in some circumstances, China does
not have an interest in encouraging intervention
in other countries for fear of leaving itself open
to external meddling in its own affairs.
China is also likely to continue to be
cautious on Security Council resolutions that
permit the use of force. And host state acceptance
along with Security Council authorization will
remain essential elements of future peacekeeping
and enforcement activities.
With the 2008
Summer Olympics in Beijing fast approaching, China
is likely to find itself back in the spotlight
after attention moved west following September 11,
2001. Already, international condemnation over
Darfur has poured cold water on China's Olympic
zeal. Depending on how attention mounts, China may
choose to keep a lower profile over the next few
years on peacekeeping activities - traditionally
one of the most high-profile dimensions of UN
operations.
In a similar vein, it is
unlikely in the near future that China will
contribute PLA troops to peacekeeping missions
around the world. Already, US perceptions of China
as a threat have hindered cooperation, with the US
restricting Chinese access to information and
technological data.
However, China
supports UN reform with respect to peacekeeping
missions. In response to the Lakhdar Brahimi
Report on UN peacekeeping reform, China said it
"supports the enhancement of the UN's peacekeeping
capacity and welcomes the secretary general's
proposal on the establishment of strategic
reserves and civilian police standby capacity".
And unless vital interests are threatened
or the world's renewed attention takes a
particularly hostile turn, peacekeeping will
remain a useful and important way for China to be
seen as a responsible player in international
affairs.
Rebecca Jackson
is an independent consultant on China, currently
working on a China-EU Energy and Climate security
project at Chatham House (Royal Institute of
International Affairs) in London.
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