China's first senior military officer in charge of the UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara said his appointment shows the UN's full recognition of China's outstanding contributions to UN peacekeeping missions.

 

Maj. Gen. Zhao Jingmin, who was appointed as force commander of the United Nations mission for the referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) in September, told Xinhua in a recent interview that his being awarded the post also demonstrates the trust the UN has in the quality of Chinese soldiers.

 

Zhao, who succeeded General Kurt Mosgaard of Denmark, is the first Chinese officer to be appointed by the UN as a peacekeeping force commander.

 

"The appointment has shown the UN's trust in the quality and ability of Chinese military officers and its full recognition of China's 17 years of active participation in UN peacekeeping missions," Zhao told Xinhua.

 

Since 1990 when China first sent five military observers to a UN peacekeeping force, China has participated in 17 UN peacekeeping operations with a total of 8,883 military personnel, Zhao said.

 

With a total of 1,648 officers and men currently stationed in 10 mission areas, China is now the country offering the largest number of peacekeepers among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

 

"China won the opportunity to compete for a senior post in the peacekeeping force thanks to the UN's recognition of China's prominent contributions to peacekeeping missions," Zhao said.

 

Although more and more middle- and high-ranking officials in the UN are Chinese, parallel to China's active participation in UN affairs, the number of Chinese officials is still lower than those from other major world powers, which does not match China's international standing, Zhao said.

 

In efforts to further strengthen its support for UN peacekeeping operations, China needs to participate more and more in the discussion, decision-making and implementation of UN missions, he said.

 

No direct conflict has broken out between the two warring sides in the Western Sahara during the past 17 years of UN involvement in peacekeeping, he said, calling it the biggest achievement of the UN mission there.

 

Western Sahara, a mostly desert region, is located on the northwest African Atlantic coast. Morocco, which currently controls Western Sahara, and the Algeria-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Western Sahara fought a war over the territory for more than a decade in the last century.

 

He noted that the issue of Western Sahara remained unsettled due to various reasons.

 

He said MINURSO has nine contingents and one liaison office with more than 230 military observers from 27 countries.

 

The main duty of the military observers, who have set up posts along a 1,500-km wall of sand, is to supervise the ceasefire between the two sides and do coordination in some related affairs.

 

Zhao has made calls to all sub-divisions, detecting problems and working out solutions, and he has paid visits to high-ranking officials of the conflicting parties and the embassies concerned over the past two months since he took office.

 

He pledged to fulfill the peacekeeping mission through continuous learning while endeavoring to better perform in the role.

 

The UN peacekeepers, who play a role in mediation, shall never be involved in the dispute, Zhao said.

 

"What our peacekeepers should do is to fully understand the spirit of the mission, strictly abide by the UN rules and regulations, remain neutral, and communicate with both conflicting parties in a timely manner to enhance mutual trust," Zhao said.

 

Zhao urged peacekeepers to study the UN resolutions on the problem of Western Sahara and reports delivered by the UN chief, as well as the agreements the UN has signed with the parties concerned.

 

"As long as you have a deep understanding of all the documents, our peacekeepers can catch the spirit of the policies involved in the problem so as to do an even better job of supervising the ceasefire," He added.

 

Being the force commander is no easy job, since his 230-odd military observers come from 27 countries with different cultural, religious and historic backgrounds, he said.

 

He called for mutual tolerance, understanding and respect from all observers to build a harmonious relationship.

 

There are 13 Chinese military observers to the Western Sahara region, Zhao said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 7, 2007)