Global Policy Forum

By Martin Parry

China closed ranks with France, Germany and Russia Thursday and promised to block a new UN resolution authorising war on Iraq, saying conflict would bring a humanitarian disaster and economic turmoil.

Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan's comments were some of the strongest China has made on the issue so far, but he would not be drawn on whether Beijing would go as far as to veto a resolution. "It's a bit too early to raise this question at this point," Tang said at a press conference in Beijing.

"Diplomacy at the Security Council is still going on. We are not at the end of the road towards a political solution. "At the moment it is absolutely unnecessary to put aside UN resolution 1441 and table a new one at the Security Council" as Britain and the United States are planning."

Iraq, under UN orders, has started destroying its banned Al-Samoud 2 missiles but the move has been dismissed by Washington as yet another "too little, too late gesture" aimed at deceiving the world into thinking he is disarming.

A vote on a new resolution is seen as possible soon after Friday, when chief UN arms inspector Hans Blix is to give his latest progress update to a public session of the Security Council attended by several foreign ministers, including Tang.

After days of bitter behind-the-scenes arguments and lobbying, Tang made it clear Thursday that China's message would be that war was not wanted under any circumstances. "We must continue the inspections until we get to the bottom of this, we must make every effort to avoid war," he said.

"Every effort has to be made to avoid war because war doesn't serve the interests of any country in the world. "A war would lead to a catastrophic humanitarian disaster for innocent people in the Gulf region, the Middle East and the world.

"It will also negatively effect the global economic recovery that is on the way." Tang said China fully supported a joint declaration delivered in Paris Wednesday after an emergency meeting of the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Russia.

In it the three countries said they would block the new resolution, further hardening the European divide ahead of a key Security Council meeting. It was the starkest indication to date that Washington and London could fail to win UN authorisation for war.

"We will not allow a draft resolution authorising the recourse to force to pass," they said. Tang said Beijing was in full agreement.

"On March 5 France, Germany and Russia issued a joint declaration," he said. "China's position is consistent with the joint statement. China endorses and supports the content of the joint statement." China, along with Russia, France, the United States and Britain, is a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council.

The White House swiftly moved to play down the March 5 declaration while British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the staunchest US ally in the Iraq crisis, said he was confident the resolution would muster the necessary votes in the 15-member Council.

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