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China sends more troops to Lebanon
In a bid to secure its interests in the Middle East and strengthen relations with Europe, Beijing is sending up to 1,000 troops to join the UN forces in Lebanon. It will be China’s largest “peacekeeping” mission since its first involvement in UN operations in the late 1980s.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced the deployment at a news conference with visiting Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi on September 18. “China is very concerned about the situation in Lebanon and hopes it can be fundamentally resolved,” Wen declared. He also doubled China’s aid to Lebanon to $US5 million.
The Chinese contingent will include 240 engineers already in southern Lebanon, as part of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL). Earlier, before Israel’s invasion in July, China had sent 180 military observers to the region as its first-ever “peacekeeping” force in the Middle East.
The Bush administration backed the Israeli onslaught that killed 1,200 people, mainly Lebanese civilians, to further US interests against Syria and Iran. It was part of a strategy of widening the war in the Middle East in order to dominate the resource-rich region. After the Israeli military failed to destroy Hezbollah-led resistance, Washington and Tel Aviv accepted a European-proposed “ceasefire” under UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
Despite holding a veto in the UN Security Council, Beijing did nothing when Israel attacked Lebanon. Only when a Chinese observer, Du Zhaoyu, was killed, along with three others, by Israel’s bombing of a UN post on July 24, did Beijing threaten to sponsor a UN resolution condemning Israel’s actions. China quickly backed off under pressure from the US, then jumped on the bandwagon to support Resolution 1701. Like the European powers, it was deeply concerned that the escalation of regional conflicts could undermine China’s oil interests.
More
http://wsws.org/articles/2006/oct2006/chin-o04.shtml
The Chinese contingent will include 240 engineers already in southern Lebanon, as part of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL). Earlier, before Israel’s invasion in July, China had sent 180 military observers to the region as its first-ever “peacekeeping” force in the Middle East.
The Bush administration backed the Israeli onslaught that killed 1,200 people, mainly Lebanese civilians, to further US interests against Syria and Iran. It was part of a strategy of widening the war in the Middle East in order to dominate the resource-rich region. After the Israeli military failed to destroy Hezbollah-led resistance, Washington and Tel Aviv accepted a European-proposed “ceasefire” under UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
Despite holding a veto in the UN Security Council, Beijing did nothing when Israel attacked Lebanon. Only when a Chinese observer, Du Zhaoyu, was killed, along with three others, by Israel’s bombing of a UN post on July 24, did Beijing threaten to sponsor a UN resolution condemning Israel’s actions. China quickly backed off under pressure from the US, then jumped on the bandwagon to support Resolution 1701. Like the European powers, it was deeply concerned that the escalation of regional conflicts could undermine China’s oil interests.
More
http://wsws.org/articles/2006/oct2006/chin-o04.shtml
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