UNSC members may thwart China’s bid to raise Kashmir

NEW DELHI: India expects support of almost every Security Council member during the second closed-door meeting on Kashmir at China’s behest for its all-weather ally Pakistan. China had called for two meetings earlier last year. The current initiative comes at a time when the Pakistan foreign minister is in the US.

Except for China, all the other four permanent members of the UN Security Council — France, Russia, the US and the UK — have consistently backed New Delhi’s position that disputes between India and Pakistan are bilateral in nature. In December, the US, France, UK, Russia, backed by Germany and Indonesia, nixed a Chinese proposal to discuss Kashmir at a closed-door UNSC meet. Vietnam and Estonia are new members of UNSC in the non-permanent category at the moment.

Estonia’s foreign minister Urmas Reinsalu, who is in Delhi, told ET: "We are aware that a UNSC member had requested to raise the issue of Kashmir. In Estonia’s view finding a peaceful solution is a matter for bilateral dialogue. This remains the only way to solve a longstanding dispute."


France, one of the five permanent members of the UNSC, has indicated that it would oppose the current Chinese initiative. "France’s position has not changed and we are very clear that the Kashmir issue must be settled bilaterally," a French diplomat told ET on Wednesday. A similar UNSC meet was called by China in August, after the government scrapped Article 370, when China raked up the status of Aksai Chin, a territory which Beijing illegally occupies in Ladakh, apart from batting for Pakistan. However, the meeting fell flat as none of the members censured India, agreeing that withdrawal of Article 370 was India’s internal issue.