Monday, June 6 2005 12:19 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Beijing: China has opposed a "hasty" expansion plan of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) proposed by India, Germany, Japan and Brazil contending that it "undermined" the interests of developing countries.

Terming it as "hasty" Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing voiced opposition to the UNSC expansion plan in recent telephone conversations with African Union Commission chairperson Alpha Oumar Konare and Nigerian Foreign Minister Oluyemi Adeniji, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

While UN members had yet to reach consensus on the reform scheme, Germany, Japan, Brazil and India, known as the Group of Four or G-4, "hastily proposed a draft resolution on UN Security Council expansion and forcefully pushed to vote on it," Li said in his first published remarks on the G-4 draft.

Such a move "is not conducive to the solidarity of UN members, runs counter to the original intention of UN reform and undermines the interests of developing countries," Li was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency on its website.

Konare said Africa would not sacrifice its solidarity for the UN Security Council reform. Adeniji said he understood China's concerns and was ready to keep close contacts with China, a permanent member of the UNSC, on the issue.

Last week, Chinese envoy to the UN Wang Guangya called the plan to enlarge UNSC favoured by G-4 as "a dangerous move" that China would oppose when it came to a vote.

On Friday (Jun 3, 2005), the Governments received the first draft of a plan for overhauling the UN, complete with demands to pay more attention to poverty and human rights. But the document avoided the contentious issues of Security Council expansion, defining terrorism and guidelines for using force.

The 15-nation Security Council, which rules on war and peace, sanctions and peacekeeping operations, still reflects the balance of power at the end of World War II.

Japan, Germany, Brazil and India intend to put to a vote this month a UN General Assembly resolution that would enlarge the Security Council from 15 to 25 members, including six more permanent seats, the report noted.