China-Snap Blog

Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir is to visit China next week. China is not signed up to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued charges against Bashir, along with several other Sudanese citizens.  China therefore has no legal obligation to arrest Bashir, and would not do so even if it did. Bashir’s visit to Beijing comes at a critical time for his country, as the already autonomous region of Southern Sudan is scheduled to formally become an independent and new country on July 9th.

Chinese Map of Sudan with Southern Sudan outlined

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The recent Japanese earthquake and Tsunami warning eventually had this writer looking over maps of the Indian Ocean Tsunami. Whilst doing so, the logic of a Thai canal – something that had struck me (along with many others) previously – once again caught my attention.

Thailand, The Malacca Strait, Southeast Asia

The logic of the canal had been considered very early on ( the earliest recorded historical reference to it dating to the 17th Century). Interest in the project has been piqued at several points since then, notably when Ferdinand de Lesseps – founder of the Suez Canal Company in 1858 and supervisor of that canal’s construction – visited Thailand in  1882 but was prevented from carrying out a detailed survey by the Thai ruler.

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Beijing Evening News highlights China's regrets and the African Union's opposition to the air strikes

Thursday 17th March’s UN Resolution 1973 on Libya was notable for several reasons. It was the first Resolution explicitly authorizing military intervention in the 21st Century, it witnessed not a single “no” vote despite severe reservations subsequently being admitted  by some of the council members including both permanent and elected ones. What’s More two members which had the opportunity and right to veto failed to do so, despite expressing regret and consternation in the following days.

In the UNSC, two conditions must be met in the voting procedures in order for a Resolution to pass. Firstly, at least 9 of the 15 members must vote in favour. Secondly, none of the permanent members must use their unique “veto” power, even one of which prevents a resolution from passing. The other options are”no” votes, decisive from a  permanent member, but less so for elected members, or “abstentions” – which indicate a lack of support but an unwillingness to stand against other members.

Resolution 1973 received 10 yes votes – from the US, UK, France, Lebanon, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Columbia, Gabon, Nigeria, Portugal and South Africa. There were no “vetoes” or “no” votes but five abstentions – from Brazil, Russia, India, China and Germany.

Much has since been made of these five abstentions.  Some have argued that the BRICs are forming a new block on the global stage, that their rise in the international arena is now a fact etc. This seems an odd claim to make, considering that all the BRICs have subsequently expressed varying degrees of unhappiness with the military action resulting from Resolution 1973. If abstaining (de facto acquiescing) was the extent to which their power could run, then one must question exactly what their influence is worth. In China’s case, this is particularly important, given widely held perceptions about the “rise of China” and the country’s well known stance on “non-intervention” in other countries’ “internal affairs”.

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