China opposed to deadline for UN reform
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-08-14 14:04

BEIJING - China reiterated its opposition to any hasty expansion of the UN Security Council, saying a new deadline of the end of the year urged by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was not appropriate, AFP reported.

China's UN ambassador Wang Guangya reiterated his country's opposition to any hasty expansion of the UN Security Council, saying a new deadline of the end of the year urged by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was not appropriate. [Reuters]

Annan has made council expansion a key plank of a sweeping UN reform package he wanted ready for consideration by world leaders at a September 14-16 summit ahead of the annual General Assembly open session.

But acknowledging it was unlikely to happen, he instead said last week member states should try to agree on the expansion issue by the end of the year.

China's UN ambassador Wang Guangya said the fact that agreement will not be reached by September showed Annan had misjudged the complexity of the issue and he should not be setting new deadlines.

"Now he has set a new time limit. I don't think it is appropriate," Wang told Xinhua news agency.

He said that while China understands Annan's drive to reform the council, "China opposes setting an artificial timetable for such an important but very complex issue."

"A forced vote without consensus would split the UN as well as the Security Council," he was cited as saying by Xinhua.

The United States is also opposed to setting deadlines, new US ambassador to the UN John Bolton said last week.

A draft resolution introduced in the General Assembly by the so-called G4 -- Brazil, Germany, India and Japan -- would boost council membership to 25.

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