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NEW DELHI: China continues to protect Pakistan-based terrorists. China on Saturday extended its technical "hold"+ on Jaish-e-Mohammed+ (JeM) chiefMasood Azhar+ for a further three months in the UN Security Council's 1267 committee.
The "hold" is on an international move to ban the Jaish-e-Mohammed leader by the UN. The JeM as an organization is already on the proscribed list. But in March this year, China+ put a technical "hold" on the move to put sanctions on Azhar. The resolution to ban him was co-sponsored by the US, UK, France and India, with 14 other countries acquiescing. China was the only one to block it with a technical hold.
In the past six months, India has lobbied with China to lift the hold. It has had absolutely no effect. In response to India's efforts, China has continued to ask India to "talk directly" to Pakistan about it. In reality, whatever China might say officially, it's actually a political hold, a show of support to its ally, Pakistan.
The move came on a day when the previous Chinese hold was due to expire+ . Sources said China extended the hold just hours before it was due to expire. China's action comes after India admitted to carrying out strikes against terrorist launching pads in Azad Kashmir, across the Line Of Control.
Confirming in Beijing, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said, "China always maintains that on the listing matter, the 1267 committee should stick to the main principles of objectivity, impartiality and professionalism, base its judgments on solid evidence and decide upon consensus among the members of the Security Council," he said in a written reply to a question.
He added, ""There are still different views on India's listing application. The extended technical hold on it will allow more time for the committee to deliberate on the matter and for relevant parties to have further consultations."
China trod a careful middle path while reacting to the strikes, calling for restraint and de-escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan. With the extension of the hold against Azhar though, China has signaled full support to Pakistan and its terror proxies.
While there is no official statement yet from India, officials pointed to a recent conversation between US national security adviser Susan Rice and Ajit Doval, NSA+ . The White House readout of the conversation quoted Rice thus: "Highlighting the danger that cross-border terrorism poses to the region, Ambassador Rice reiterated our expectation that Pakistan take effective action to combat and delegitimize United Nations-designated terrorist individuals and entities, including Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and their affiliates. In the context of the robust US-India partnership, Ambassador Rice discussed our shared commitment with India to pursuing peace and regional stability and pledged to deepen collaboration on counterterrorism matters including on UN terrorist designatio
Basically, it means US and India are expected to work together specifically on this issue in the UN. But since the 1267 committee works by consensus, a single veto can block any movement. China knows the US, in a lame duck administration, is hardly likely to pursue vigorously such issues.
India is likely to up its diplomacy against the move, and for the next three months China can expect a lot of naming and shaming by many countries. However, its unlikely to have much of an impact on Beijing, which is working on a bigger plan to support and stabilize Pakistan, both at a bilateral level and multilaterally.
Ironically, China's action has also served to highlight Pakistan's intimate ties with global terrorists.
China's move in favour of Pakistan is not unique. In recent weeks, China has threatened South Korea for installing a THAAD (Terminal high Altitude Area Defense) system against North Korea's nuclear weapons. Pakistan and North Korea are China's closest allies. China continues to use them to keep regional powers like Japan and South Korea in the east and India in the west off balance and in check.
