China tells Japan, Canada war against Iraq should be avoided

Japan Policy & Politics, March 3, 2003

BEIJING, Feb. 28 Kyodo

China told Japan and Canada on Friday that U.N. weapons inspections in Iraq should be allowed to continue and all efforts made to avoid war, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan conveyed the message in telephone talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and Canadian Foreign Minister William Graham.

Tang was quoted as saying weapons inspections by the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency in Iraq are effective.

''A war against Iraq would ruin peace and stability in the (Persian) Gulf region and the wider world, and lead to serious humanitarian crises as well as having a negative impact on the global economy,'' Tang was reported as saying.

An all-out effort should be made to avoid war and to find a political solution within the framework of the United Nations, Tang reportedly said.

On the issue of North Korea, Xinhua quoted Tang as telling Kawaguchi and Graham that it is most important for the United States and North Korea to open talks as soon as possible.

China keeps an open mind toward any suggestions leading to a peaceful solution of the North Korean nuclear issue, he reportedly said.

Tang's phone calls are part of the opening this week of a public, diplomatic initiative by China on Iraq, following its apparent willingness to take a back seat on the contentious issue. It also represents a setback for U.S. attempts to win international support to launch military action against Iraq.

On Thursday, Tang issued a joint statement with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov opposing the use of military force against Iraq and calling for U.N. weapons inspectors there to be given more time to do their work.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, visiting China earlier this week, was unable to win Beijing's backing for a new U.N. Security Council resolution on Iraq and failed to draw Beijing away from its support of Pyongyang's stance that North Korea and the U.S. should open bilateral talks.

The U.S., Britain and Spain presented a new resolution at the U.N. Security Council on Monday to clear the way for using force against Iraq to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction.

Russia supports an alternative plan, promoted by France and Germany, that would give U.N. inspectors an additional four months to search Iraqi sites for banned weapons.