Chinese UN peacekeepers safeguard world peace
- By Zhang Yue
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail China.org.cn, July 17, 2015
|
|
|
Chinese peacekeepers on an escort mission in Somalia in January 2015. [Photo: China Today] |
On April 8, 2015 an infantry contingent from China arrived in South Sudan. This was the last batch of the 700-member Chinese infantry battalion designated for UN peacekeeping missions there, China's first, marking a new stage of its participation in UN peacekeeping deployment.
An active helper
The UN aims to defend peace in the spirit of the UN Charter via peacekeeping operations. China, a permanent member of the Security Council, is committed to world peace and security, and supports and participates with great zeal in peacekeeping missions that are in line with the UN Charter.
In the 25 years since April 1990, when it first sent five military observers to the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in the Middle East, China has steadily expanded its presence in UN peacekeeping operations, and the troops it has dispatched have become more diversified.
Initially confined to the Middle East, Chinese peacekeepers are now found in 11 regions around the world. Their formation has grown from the original singularity of engineers to a compound of engineering, transport, and infantry troops, military doctors, military observers, and military consultants. In 2013, China for the first time dispatched a security force to Mali, and then in 2015, the first full infantry battalion was sent to South Sudan. Both were historic events in China's involvement in UN peacekeeping missions. It now contributes 2,720 peacekeepers to the UN, and the number is expected to rise to 3,100 by the end of 2015.
So far, China has participated in 24 UN peacekeeping missions, including nine of the 16 ongoing at present. Its accumulative contribution of troops, at 30,178, is the seventh largest among all contributing countries, and the largest among permanent members of the Security Council. China is also the No.1 source of support personnel, such as doctors and technicians. What's more, the country shoulders the sixth largest share of peacekeeping expenses among all UN members, and the largest in the developing world. It is no exaggeration to say that China is a mainstay of the UN's peacekeeping efforts and a strong contributor to world peace.
Chinese soldiers recognized globally
Chinese peacekeeping troops display high professionalism and extraordinary efficiency despite facing demanding tasks and tough conditions. In Cambodia, the Chinese engineering team finished the construction of a bridge within one day. In Liberia, the Chinese transport contingent's services covered the whole country. In Mali, where the ground temperature soared to 50 °C at times, Chinese technicians built a large hospital within four months. In southern Lebanon, Chinese soldiers detected and defused 8,779 land mines and bombs over five years, including 6,000 or more bomblets of cluster munitions, without incurring a single injury or casualty. When the civil war reached full force in Syria and local airports were jeopardized, for 10 hours non-stop Chinese officers scanned the documents of 150 international observers stationed in the region to facilitate visa issuance and evacuation via Lebanon.
While performing their duties Chinese peacekeepers conscientiously abide by UN rules and local laws, sustaining a spotless record of nil discipline/law violations and repatriations. A 2009 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) acclaimed that the Chinese force as the most professional, efficient, disciplined and best trained among all UN peacekeepers, concluding that its positive image enhanced the integrity of UN peacekeeping missions.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)