China's Armed Forces: 30 Years of UN Peacekeeping Operations（2）

III. Implementation of Pledges Announced at the UN Summit

On September 28, 2015, President Xi Jinping addressed the Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping at UNHQ and announced six measures that China would take to support UN peacekeeping. The Chinese government and armed forces have faithfully implemented the decisions and directions of President Xi Jinping, and taken concrete steps to honor their promises. Important progress has been made over the past five years. China's armed forces have expanded the composition of their peacekeeping troops from single service to multiple military branches, enabling Chinese peacekeepers to perform diverse tasks in addition to enabling functions. The objectives of China's peacekeeping efforts have extended beyond conflict prevention to building lasting peace. As a result, the peacekeeping capacity of China's armed forces has been further strengthened.

1. A Peacekeeping Standby Force in Position

Rapid deployment of peacekeeping forces means greater opportunities to maintain peace and protect lives. China's armed forces fully support the UN in developing the Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System (PCRS) and reinforcing UN rapid deployment capacity. In September 2017, China completed the registration of a UN peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops. This force has 28 units in ten categories – infantry, engineer, transport, medical, force protection, rapid response, helicopter, transport aircraft, UAV, and surface ship units. In October 2018, after a satisfactory Assessment and Advisory Visit (AAV) by a UNHQ team, 13 of these units were elevated to PCRS Level 2. In 2019 and 2020, six units were upgraded to PCRS Level 3 from Level 2. The Chinese standby force has been trained in strict compliance with the UN criteria and maintained the requisite degree of preparedness. It is now a well-trained, well-equipped and disciplined specialized force. China has become the country with the largest number of standby peacekeeping troops of the most diversified profile. In addition, in June 2016, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security set up a permanent peacekeeping police squad, the first of its kind in the world. The squad was pledged to the PCRS Rapid Deployment Level (RDL) in October 2019.

2. More Enabling Capabilities to the UNPKOs

Enabler troops including engineer, transport and medical units provide vital support to peacekeeping missions. They play an important part in promoting the effectiveness of UN missions, facilitating post-conflict reconstruction and improving lives in host nations. China traditionally deploys hard-to-source enabler troops. After the Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping in 2015, China responded actively to the UN call for more enabler assets including engineering and medical capabilities. Twenty-five rotations of engineer and medical units totaling 7,001 troops have been committed to missions in the DRC, South Sudan, Sudan's Darfur, Mali and Lebanon. As of August 2020, six Chinese engineer units of 1,188 troops and four medical units of 199 troops were serving on UN missions. In the danger, turbulence and harsh conditions of mission areas, Chinese military peacekeepers have successfully performed all tasks entrusted by the UN including building paved roads and bridges, clearing mines and explosives, providing medical services, and supporting reconstruction in host nations. They have contributed to the local peace process and promoted the public image of UN peacekeepers.

3. Training Foreign Peacekeepers

China's armed forces are willing to share their peacekeeping assets in a spirit of win-win. They have actively helped other TCCs improve training, build capability to respond to complex situation, and better perform in the UNPKOs. In the past five years, China has provided 20 training programs to over 1,500 peacekeepers from more than 60 countries, covering civilian protection and courses for senior mission officials, trainers, military professionals, and female officers. The Chinese military provided assistance in demining and trained more than 300 professionals from countries including Cambodia, Laos, Ethiopia, Sudan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The Chinese Ministry of Public Security also trained more than 1,000 foreign peacekeeping police officers.

4. Military Aid Gratis to the African Union (AU)

Africa has the greatest need for peacekeeping. In order to help the African countries improve their ability to maintain peace and stability, and provide African solutions to African issues, the PLA has honored China's commitment of gratis military aid to the value of USD100 million to support the African Standby Force and the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crisis. The first installment of the aid including military equipment and supplies has been delivered to the AU, and Chinese military experts have been sent to complete the hand-over and provide end-user training. The PLA has agreed with the AU on the arrangement of the next aid installments.

5. The First Peacekeeping Helicopter Unit in Operation

The PLA helicopter unit made its first flight on a peacekeeping mission in August 2017. China's armed forces deployed their first peacekeeping helicopter unit of 140 troops to the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). The unit was composed of four medium multi-purpose helicopters and tasked with force delivery, operational support, search and rescue, medical evacuation, and logistic supply. The unit adapted itself to the unknown complexities of overseas missions and fulfilled multiple high-risk tasks. It has become an essential airborne arm of UNAMID and a pillar of the UN peacekeeping operations in Darfur.

6. China-UN Peace and Development Fund in Support of the UNPKOs

To support the UN efforts for peace and advance multilateral cooperation, China has established a China-UN Peace and Development Fund. From 2016 to 2019, the fund financed 52 peace and security projects to a total value of USD33.62 million. Twenty-three of these projects were in support of the UNPKOs, which cost USD10.38 million. The goal of these projects is to strengthen coordination and planning of the UNPKOs, increase African peacekeeping capacity, provide protection for peacekeepers, and improve lives in Sudan's Darfur, Mali and other mission areas.

IV. Active Efforts for Greater International Cooperation

World peace is the responsibility of all countries and peacekeeping calls for expanding multilateral cooperation. China's armed forces have cooperated on peacekeeping with over 90 countries and 10 international and regional organizations. They have enhanced mutual understanding, shared experience, extended practical cooperation, strengthened bilateral and multilateral relations, and promoted peacekeeping capability through exchange of visits, expert discussions, joint exercises and training, and personnel training.

1. Strengthening Strategic Communication to Build Consensus on Peacekeeping

Better strategic communication with the UN leadership is an important means to move the UNPKOs forward. Since 2012, President Xi Jinping has had 11 meetings with UN Secretary-Generals, proposed Chinese ideas and Chinese solutions for world peace and development on multiple international occasions, and reiterated China's support for the UNPKOs. In 2015, President Xi Jinping attended the Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping at UNHQ and presented proposals that the basic principles of peacekeeping should be strictly followed, the peacekeeping system needs to be improved, rapid response needs to be enhanced, and greater support and help should be given to Africa. Accordingly, China's armed forces are resolved to implement the consensus reached by the leaders. They have strengthened communication with relevant UN agencies, attended several sessions of the UN Peacekeeping Defense Ministerial and the UN Chiefs of Defense Conference, and actively promoted peacekeeping cooperation.

China's armed forces are committed to strengthening bilateral and multilateral communication for better understanding and mutual trust. They have carried out active peacekeeping cooperation with the militaries of countries including Russia, Pakistan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, France, Germany, the UK, and the US. Through reciprocal visits, China's armed forces and their foreign counterparts have strengthened communication on policies, made cooperation plans, and advanced friendly state-to-state and military-to-military relations. In May 2010, the first China-US consultation on the UNPKOs was held in Beijing. In April 2015, the defense ministers of China and Vietnam signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on peacekeeping cooperation between the two ministries in Beijing. That same year, China conducted the first BRICS consultation on the UNPKOs with Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. In February 2017, the first China-UK dialogue on peacekeeping operations was held in the UK. In April 2018, military advisers of Russia, France, the UK and the US to the UN Military Staff Committee visited China and exchanged extensive views on the UNPKOs with the Chinese side. In May, the defense ministries of China and Pakistan signed a protocol on policy collaboration with regard to the UNPKOs. In October, the German defense minister visited the Training Base of the Peacekeeping Affairs Center of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense (MND), and a peacekeeping delegation from the Chinese MND visited the German Armed Forces United Nations Training Centre.

2. Contributing Chinese Wisdom and Sharing Experience

Sharing experience and learning from each other is an effective approach to improving the UNPKOs. China's armed forces have actively conducted international exchanges on peacekeeping. The PLA sent delegations to visit the peacekeeping training facilities of countries including Argentina, Finland and Germany, and received more than 180 visits from other countries and international organizations including the UN and the AU. China has hosted over ten international events on peacekeeping, including the Sino-UK Seminar on Peacekeeping Operations, the International Seminar on Challenges of Peace Operations – Into the 21st Century, the China-ASEAN Seminar on Peacekeeping Operations, and the 2009 Beijing International Symposium on UN Peacekeeping Operations. Meanwhile, Chinese peacekeeping troops in Mali, Sudan, South Sudan, the DRC, Liberia, and Lebanon have exchanged experience with their counterparts from France, Senegal and Spain.

China's armed forces have participated extensively in UN peacekeeping consultations and policy-making, and provided input on the UNPKOs. They have played a dynamic role in the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations of the UN General Assembly and the TCC Contingent-Owned Equipment (COE) Working Group, invited officials from the UN High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations and the UN Security Council to China, and offered suggestions on reforming UN peacekeeping, raising its effectiveness, and ensuring the safety and security of peacekeepers. Expert meetings have been hosted by China to draft and review documents including the United Nations Peacekeeping Missions Military Engineer Unit Manual and the Military Peacekeeping-Intelligence Handbook, and Chinese experts have been sent to participate in updating the manuals of UN peacekeeping infantry, force protection, aviation, transport, medical support units and civil-military cooperation.

3. Extending Cooperation on Joint Exercises and Training to Build Capability

Joint exercises and training are important as a means of improving the UN's peacekeeping capability and its talent pool. To learn from each other and improve skills, China's armed forces have conducted various peacekeeping exercises and training with the UN, and with relevant countries and regional organizations. In June and July 2009, China and Mongolia held a joint exercise codenamed Peacekeeping Mission-2009 in Beijing. In addition, China's armed forces have sent military personnel to participate in multilateral engagements including the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Group Table-Top Exercise on Peacekeeping Operations in the Philippines in February 2014, the Khan Quest multinational peacekeeping exercises in Mongolia from 2015 to 2019, the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations and Humanitarian Mine Action field training exercises in India in March 2016 and in Indonesia in September 2019, peacekeeping table-top exercises in Thailand in May 2016 and May 2018, and the multinational computer-assisted command-post exercise Viking 18 in Brazil in April 2018.

China's armed forces established a specialized peacekeeping training institution in June 2009. Since then, the PLA has run over 20 international training programs for UN peacekeepers, including the UN Military Observers Course, the UN Staff Officers Course, the UN Peacekeeping Training of Trainers Course for Francophone Countries, and the UN Senior National Planners Course. The PLA has also invited UN experts and senior instructors from other countries for pre-deployment training of Chinese peacekeeping troops and military professionals, and sent instructors to assist peacekeeping training in countries including Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Thailand, and Vietnam. More than 100 PLA officers have attended courses or observed exercises hosted by the UN or other TCCs.

V. Contributing to Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind

The world is going through profound changes unseen in a century, and the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating such changes. Uncertainties and destabilizing factors in the international security situation are on the rise, and there are diverse threats to world peace. The UNPKOs are faced with multiple challenges, including increasing constraints, heavier tasks, and a more complex security environment. China will continue to play its part as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, firmly support and participate in the UNPKOs, actively respond to the Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative, and support reasonable and necessary reforms in the UNPKOs. China will contribute its fair share to building an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity.

1. Upholding the Vision of a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind and Working Together to Promote World Peace

In today's world, people in conflict-ridden areas are still suffering. They have a deep yearning for peace, higher hopes of the UN, and greater expectations of peacekeeping operations. Countries should treat each other with respect and equality. Disputes and problems should be settled through dialogue and consultation with the maximum sincerity and patience. No country should willfully resort to threat or use of force, or undermine world peace and the national interests of sovereign states. Instead, countries should commit themselves to raising the awareness that people across the world are members of a community of shared destiny. They should uphold humanitarianism, and increase support for and participation in the UNPKOs. China will continue to fulfill its responsibilities as a major country, scale up support for and involvement in the UNPKOs, and join forces with other countries to promote a sound and reasonable UN peacekeeping reform. China's armed forces will endeavor to play a stronger role in the UNPKOs, comprehensively improve peacekeeping capability, faithfully fulfill their responsibilities, and contribute more to world peace.

2. Improving the Peacekeeping System and Addressing Both the Symptoms and Root Causes of Conflict

Only by giving equal attention to development and security and by addressing both the symptoms and root causes of conflict can sustainable peace be assured. Peacekeeping operations should be aligned with preventive diplomacy and other peace-related endeavors, and at the same time coordinated with political mediation, rule of law, national reconciliation, and improvement of living standards. China supports the UN in improving the peacekeeping system. With a focus on the primary tasks of the UNPKOs, a bigger share of limited resources should be allocated to development. China advocates that the rights of host-nation governments to independently choose social systems and development paths based on their national conditions, and local people's rights to subsistence and development should be respected. Only then will host nations be able to focus on development and reconstruction so that peacekeeping gains and sustainable peace are secured. In the UNPKOs, China's armed forces will, as always, contribute to a safe and stable environment for countries and regions in conflict. They will actively participate in medical support and health care, humanitarian assistance, environmental protection, improving lives, and social reconstruction, and provide more public services to enable the local people to enjoy the benefits of peaceful development.

3. Pursuing Extensive Consultation, Joint Contribution, and Mutual Complementarity and Building a New Type of Peacekeeping Partnership

Both TCCs and FCCs are important contributors to the UNPKOs. In peacekeeping, all countries should shoulder their respective responsibilities, follow the principles of consultation and collaboration, and leverage each other's strengths for greater synergy. China supports the UN's efforts to improve peacekeeping partnerships by strengthening coordination among the Security Council, the Secretariat, TCCs and host nations, and optimizing the UN's coordination and collaboration with regional and sub-regional organizations. China's armed forces will actively respond to the triangular cooperation initiated by the UN, and provide all possible support to other TCCs and regional and sub-regional organizations in terms of technology, equipment, personnel and funding.

4. Supporting the UN Efforts to Refine Security Council Mandates and Improve Peacekeeping Effectiveness

Security Council mandates are the basis and guidelines for UN peacekeeping missions, and a decisive factor in the legitimacy and effectiveness of the UNPKOs. When developing and renewing peacekeeping mandates, it is necessary to take into account various factors such as national conditions and the actual needs of host nations, and the capability of the TCCs. It is also important to reset the priorities and main lines of action at each phase in accordance with changing needs. China supports the establishment of an accountability mechanism for peacekeeping performance by the UN, the economic use of resources, and the employment of advanced technology with a view to improving the effectiveness of the UNPKOs and fulfilling the role they are expected to play. China is in favor of the UN measures in helping developing countries build peacekeeping and stabilization capability, improving troop and equipment capacities, and enabling peacekeeping forces to perform their duties. China's armed forces will continue to train more excellent professionals for other countries.

5. Giving Full Play to the PCRS and Enhancing Rapid Response

The PCRS is an important guarantee for the UN's rapid response to crises and conflicts. China supports the UN in strengthening the PCRS and will first select and deploy the units of the standby force that meet the UN standards. China's armed forces will follow the PCRS criteria, continue to build the 8,000-troop peacekeeping standby force and maintain a high level of preparedness. Surface ships, rapid response units and other capabilities can be provided to the UNPKOs if needed.

6. Proactively Addressing Risks and Threats and Ensuring the Safety and Security of Peacekeepers

The operational environment of the UN missions is becoming more hostile and complicated. Only by ensuring the personal safety and security of peacekeepers can the mandates of UN Security Council be effectively fulfilled. With a view to fully protecting the safety, security and health of peacekeepers, China advocates a systematic approach to addressing the increasing traditional and non-traditional security threats, and stands for comprehensive UN solutions to strengthen information collection and sharing, reinforce early warning and risk awareness, upgrade security equipment and facilities, improve medical services, and enhance the prevention and control of infectious diseases.

Closing Remarks

Seventy-five years ago, people across the world won an epic victory against fascism, following a heroic struggle and huge sacrifice. A UN-centered international system was then established. Looking back through history, people are more keenly aware that peace has not come easily and to safeguard it requires great effort. At present, humanity is at a crossroads: Peace or war, cooperation or confrontation, progress or regress – these are significant choices that all countries need to make.

Peace needs to be fought for and safeguarded. China is firmly committed to the path of peaceful development, and hopes that other countries will also pursue peaceful development. Only when all countries do so, can common development, peaceful coexistence, and world peace be secured. As always, China's armed forces will continue to provide unfailing support for the UNPKOs, fulfill their commitments to safeguarding peace, and bring greater confidence and hope to conflict-ridden areas and local people. China is ready to join hands with all peace-loving nations to champion and pursue multilateralism, and uphold the international system centered on the UN and the basic norms of international relations underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China will exert itself in building a community with a shared future for mankind, and in making the world a better place.