In a move which will be having far-reaching consequences, the Five Eyes of the world (US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand), along with India, raised objection to the draft UN declaration which was about to be adopted on June 24, on the eve of the 75th anniversary marking the signing of the UN Charter. In the absence of any objection from member states, the declaration was to be passed on Friday, June 26, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the UN Charter. However, the Five Eyes and India broke the ‘silence procedure’, and the UK’s acting ambassador, Jonathan Allen raised an objection relating to the phraseology of the declaration, on behalf of the Five Eyes and India.
The “silence process” is one by which a resolution passes if there are no objections raised to it in a stipulated time frame. The objection of the six countries, including India, was with the language of the declaration, which seemed very China-centric and influenced by the CCP. Moreover, the usage of phrases closely associated with China, particularly put into use regularly by the CCP, further irked the six countries at the United Nations.
The phrase in question was towards the end of the declaration and read “community with a shared future for mankind.” This statement is closely associated with the CCP and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, as a vision of its own foreign policy, and a general perception of the future world order, in which China thinks of itself reigning supreme. This is what is problematic for the Five Eyes and India, all of whom have had just about enough of Chinese nuisance.
The six countries have also suggested an alternate statement to replace the Chinese one, which reads, “We will work together with partners to strengthen coordination and global governance for the common good of present and future generations and to realize our shared vision for a better future as envisaged in the preamble of the UN Charter.” The Hindu further reported that China, on behalf of itself and Russia, Syria and Pakistan raised objections to the silence being broken by India and the other five countries.
As a result, UN General Assembly President Muhammad-Bande had on June 25 placed the amended declaration under the silent process until June 26, 1800 hours New York Time. If no new objections were raised by member states until 6:00 PM Friday, the declaration would be adopted directly.
The phrase “shared vision for a common future” bears striking resemblance to the phrase used by the Chinese Communist Party while describing its foreign policy aspirations. It was famously used in a report by former Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao to the 18th CCP Congress in 2012.
The Five Eyes, world’s most powerful intelligence-gathering coalition, have been particularly frustrated with China over its mismanagement of the CoVID-19 pandemic, in which it hid crucial details, silenced whistle-blowers and allowed international travel despite being fully aware of the potential of the virus to wreak havoc across the world. As reported by TFI earlier, the intelligence agencies of US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand have exposed a series of Chinese cover-ups. A leaked 15-page dossier from the Five Eyes called China’s secrecy about the pandemic an ‘assault on international transparency’. The Five Eyes have been pushing for an investigation into the source of the virus strain causing CoVID-19.
For India to join their league, however, is big. The blocking of the China-influenced draft declaration is a show of both strength by India, as well as that of intent. India has shown that it has picked a side, and China is not a friend any longer. This comes after 20 Indian Army soldiers lost their lives on June 15 in a violent clash with China’s PLA. India has been clear ever since: bilateral relations between the two countries will never be the same again.
An indicator to the same was displayed by India on June 24, when it sided with the Five Eyes in blocking the draft UN-75 declaration. The move by India means a lot, but to begin with, it shows that we have decided to begin hitting China where it hurts them the most – CCP’s ego.
