Japan's Quest for a Permanent UN Security Council Seat: Part Two - The Impact of the UN Reform Proposals on China-Japan Relations

Lord David Hannay (Member of the UN High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, and Former UK Ambassador to the UN) and J. Sean Curtin (Fellow, GLOCOM and Asia Times)

A full list of articles in this series can be found here.

Lord David Hannay was one of the 16-member High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change that was established by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in November 2003. It was charged with outlining a new course for the UN and issued its report in November 2004. The panel recommended wide-ranging UN reform as well as an expansion of the UN Security Council (UNSC).

Sean Curtin: As someone very closely associated with the UN reform process, what are your thoughts about the violent passions and destructive forces that have been released in East Asia by the UN reform proposals that you yourself have helped formulate? I am thinking here of the violent anti-Japanese demonstrations that have swept China partially as a result of Tokyo's bid for a UN Security Council seat and the angry rallies and signature campaigns that have erupted in South Korea as an attempt to block the Japanese bid.

Lord Hannay: I think myself that enlarging the UN Security Council is tied up with the UN's credibility. I think that it does have difficulties with its present formation of 15 countries in achieving the right degree of credibility. But, I would agree with what I think was underlying your question which is neither does enlargement assure credibility, nor does failure to enlarge deprive it totally of credibility. I think these arguments suffer from too many absolutes.

You asked about Japan, China, Korea and so on. I would plead not guilty to having unleashed the troubles between them. I think that the truth of the matter is that there are very strong passions in all those countries which do not require me or anyone else to unleash them. They just get going sometimes on their own.

Now, there is some doubt about whether the Chinese government was complicit in some of these demonstrations or not. Although more recent reporting would seem to indicate that they have got rather alarmed. This would not be surprising in my view. Of course, it is always tempting to a government to use nationalism as a kind of cohesive force but it is sometimes like a tiger you go for a ride on, but it is quite difficult to get off when you are going along. I think myself the Chinese are now going in for a little calm thought.

In any case, we did put forward two proposals and in one of them, the second, we did not put forward the creation of any new permanent members.

UN High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change

The 16-member High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change offered two options to broaden the current representation of the UNSC. Under model A, six new, permanent members would be added to the Security Council, while under model B the council would expand by including eight new, non-permanent seats which would be renewable. Neither proposal envisages any of the new members having veto powers.

Other prominent panel members were Sadako Ogata, president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency; Brent Scowcroft, former US presidential adviser; former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov; and former Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen, inter alios.

Profile: Lord Hannay

Lord David Hannay of Chiswick is the UK's former Permanent Representative to the UN (1990-1995) and served as a member of the UN High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change. He was also the British Government Special Representative for Cyprus from 1996 to 2003 and was a former British ambassador to the European Union as well as a member of the advisory board of the Centre for European Reform.

Lord Hannay's comments were made at Chatham House (Royal Institute for International Affairs) in London on 27 April 2005.

A full list of articles in this series can be found here.