China Trying to Soften the Report on Sanctions Evasion

IB: The team that has prepared this report consists of seven experts, who are responsible for investigating the sanctions passed by the Security Council. The mentioned report is also about the sanctions on North Korea, and they have prepared an eighty-one page report as the board of supervision.
 

IRD: China attempted to prevent the release of this report. Why is that so?
 

IB: China has not yet prevented the release of the report; it is studying the report. Countries that have the right to veto surely stand firm when their interest is at stake, and will not allow reports against them to be officially released.

This is not a new case, In previous cases the members of the SC were able to negotiate with China and release reports with some alterations. These alterations persuaded China and Russia that the provisions of the reports are not very antagonistic toward them, and they will be able to maintain their interests.

However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson has announced that this is only at the level of panels, and it has not reached the committee responsible for the sanctions or the Security Council, therefore it is not specifically significant. We should point out that the report does not name China at all.

IRD: A paragraph in this report states that some technologies were transferred by a neighboring country of North Korea to another country; some diplomats say that this neighboring country is China.
 

 IB: This means that the technologies of North Korea are sent to Iran by a third country, which is assumed to be China.
 

IRD: Is China’s presence in North Korea because of its interests, or is it trying to soften the report, or is it also concerned about Iran as well?
 

IB: North Korea is China’s old ally. In other words, China has even been involved in a war because of North Korea. Since the Korean War, when the North was dominated by Communists and the South by pro- West forces, the North became more reliant on China rather than Russia. Nevertheless, North Korea tried to get aid from both these countries. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the only strong ally for North Korea was China. China also accepted this relationship in order to control the events in the Northeastern parts of Asia.

Therefore, it has not hesitated in helping out this country, and in my view the mere fact that North Korea has been able to survive economic problems and droughts is because of the support and help of China.
 

IRD: Since the release of the report is dependent on China’s consent, don’t you think China’s strictness in regards to the content of the report damages its position in the international arena?
 

IB: No, China has the right of veto in the Security Council as an influential power. It is natural that it tries to defend its interests as far as possible. Therefore, I believe this case is one of those which occur in the margins of international cooperation. All countries have international concerns, but they cannot influence their position in the international community.

This report, just like other reports which accuse some countries of some conducts, will be denied by those countries whose interests are at stake. The most optimistic case would be that after some alterations this report will be released when it no longer accuses China. A traditional conservatism might force Chinese politicians to accept the release of the report after some changes in order to prevent the deterioration of their relations with the international community.

However I believe that if this scenario takes place, the next country that could be involved is Russia, since the report only mentions a third country and Russia has vast land as well.

This report states that Iran Air or Air Korea have transferred these devices. Since these airlines have been named and airplanes should fly through a specific corridor according to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the possibility of Russia as the third country becomes strong, because this corridor could be within Russia’s air zone. Nevertheless, there will be a dispute over the identity of the third country.
 

IRD: IF China stands firm in preventing the release of this report, could its relations with the US reach a crisis, since the US has announced that it will investigate the issue itself?
 

IB: We cannot label it as a crisis. The US and China have problems in many issues. These problems are all in minor issues, and if they are added up they still cannot turn into a crisis. There are disputes between these two countries in cases like Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, economic and political issues.

But both these countries are cooperating in more general issues. Recently their officials have also met and therefore they try to soften each other’s positions and continue cooperating. I believe that this issue will not turn into a crisis, and it will only increase awareness which will lead to more severe sanctions on North Korea.
 

IRD: Can this issue influence Iran and the issues regarding it in the Security Council?
 

IB: If I was to say that this report has three main sides, one of them would be Iran, the other North Korea, and the third is the country that is not named and is assumed to be China. Therefore, this issue has raised awareness in Iran as well, and our Foreign Ministry Spokesperson has denied the case and announced that we do not need these devices and are able to produce them ourselves.

Iran has denied the issue, so has China in another sense, and it is possible that North Korea might take the same position as well.

I believe that this case will remain in its current status. If China agrees with the release of the report, this document could be used in the Security Council for future disputes and pressures. That’s why China is trying to pretend that the issue has no major significance, and will put all its efforts into preventing this report form turning into a document.