Mr Chairperson,
First of all, please allow me, on behalf of the Chinese delegation, to welcome you back to the Chair of the Council. The Chinese delegation will fully cooperate with you and other delegations to make this session a good beginning of our work this year.
China appreciates the comprehensive report by the Director-General H.E. Üzümcü to the Council, and would like to associate itself with the statement by Ambassador of Cuba H.E. Zelmys M. Domínguez Cortina on behalf of the NAM States Parties and China. Now, please allow me to set forth China’s positions in connection with the agenda items.
On the issue of chemical weapons destruction, China maintains that the complete destruction of chemical weapons within the deadline set out by the Convention constitutes a high priority and core objective of the Convention, and that destruction of chemical weapons is the most important, pressing and overriding task for the OPCW at present and in the years to come. While commending the positive progress made by possessor States in this regard, China is seriously concerned that certain possessor States could fail to meet the final extended deadline. We call upon the countries concerned to fully demonstrate their good faith and increase input to speed up their destruction effectively. China believes that failure of complying with the final extended deadline will have a major, profound and complex impact on the integrity of the Convention, the commitment of States Parties to its implementation, and the future development of the OPCW, and henceforth exploring appropriate solution to the relevant issues will be the most important task for the OPCW this year. China has taken an active part in the informal consultations held by the Chair of the Council on issues related to compliance with the final extended deadlines of destruction. We are of the view that the OPCW should initiate, at an early date, substantive discussions on these issues within the framework of the Council, in order to bring forward proper solutions in line with the provisions of the Convention, solutions that preserve the credibility, integrity and validity of the Convention while avoiding possible double standards with long-term negative impact.
Mr Chairperson,
Over a long period of time, chemical weapons abandoned by Japan in China have posed a grave threat and caused real harm to people in the affected areas in China in terms of safety of their life, property and environment. The complete and thorough destruction of Japanese ACWs within the deadline prescribed by the Convention is a matter that will bear on chemical demilitarisation, which is the core objective of the Convention.
While destruction operation officially started last October, the rate of progress in the overall process of destruction still falls far behind schedule. China is deeply worried about whether the destruction of Japanese ACWs will be completed within the final extended deadline prescribed by the Convention. We urge Japan, while ensuring the safety of people and environment in China, to formulate feasible and detailed plans, increase all types of inputs, introduce more effective monitoring measures, and make the utmost to accelerate the pace of destruction, so as to fulfil, strictly and earnestly, its obligations under the Convention as the Abandoning State. China will continue to provide appropriate cooperation in this regard. We commend the positive efforts of the Secretariat in advancing the Japanese ACW destruction process, and hope to see the Secretariat’s continued constructive role.
Mr Chairperson,
On the future development of the OPCW, China believes that prior to the completion of the destruction of CW stockpiles and of ACWs, it is inappropriate and premature to shift the priority of the OPCW’s work from CW demilitarisation to other areas. CW destruction should remain the main task of the OPCW, for which resource allocated should be ensured as a priority. Efforts should be made on this basis to push forward, in a balanced and effective manner, undertakings on other fronts, such as non-proliferation, protection and assistance, and international cooperation, and to make corresponding arrangements in human and financial resources. China has noted the establishment by the Director-General of the independent advisory panel on future development of the OPCW, and is looking forward to receiving from the panel fair, objective and pragmatic views and recommendations, which could be useful reference for States Parties in making collective decisions.
As a developing country with a significant chemical industry, China attaches great importance to industry cluster consultations, and is of the belief that the improvement of the industry verification regime should be achieved through consultations in a holistic and comprehensive approach as well as in strict accordance with the provisions of the Convention. On the issue of the number of annual industry inspections and the distribution of inspections among different facilities, China believes that full consideration should be given to all related factors, such as the hierarchy of risks pertaining to facilities as specified in the Convention, equitable geographical distribution, nature of the inspected facilities and States Parties’ capacity to receive inspections, and that a final solution should be reached through consensus and acceptable to all. China is ready to constructively take part in the related consultations.
Mr Chairperson,
Enhancing international cooperation is of great and profound significance to the full implementation of the Convention, as this is an important hinge point for efforts to promote universality of the Convention, ensure safety and security of industry facilities in various countries, and improve the capacity of developing countries in industry implementation. China welcomes the workshop on international cooperation in November 2010, which was successfully held and produced a final report, and China wishes to take that as a basis for in-depth discussions with all parties in an effort to formulate concrete measures for the full implementation of Article XI.
Mr Chairperson,
Before concluding my statement, I would like to commend H.E. Deputy Director-General John Freeman for the great job he has done in the past years and look forward to his greater contributions in maintaining international peace and security on his new post. The Chinese delegation also wishes to extend congratulations to Ambassador Grace Asirwatham on her appointment as the incoming Deputy Director-General and would like to assure her of our close cooperation.
Thank you, Mr Chairperson.