UN Charter "enemy state clauses" should stay: Chinese envoy

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Monday told the General Assembly that the "enemy state clauses" in the UN Charter shall not be altered or deleted given Japan's re-militarization.

In exercising the right of reply at the General Debate of the UN General Assembly, Sun Lei, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, noted that Japan, in its statement delivered at the debate on Sept. 22, called for deletion of the "enemy state clauses," citing its "exclusively defense-oriented policy."

China firmly opposes Japan's request, he said, adding that Japan joined the United Nations after recognizing its militarist crimes and accepting the UN Charter in its entirety.

The post-war system of Japan is contingent on deep self-reflection on its history of aggression and a clear break from militarism. However, more than 80 years later, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, instead of self-reflection, has spared no effort to glorify and whitewash Japan's war crimes, and has attempted to cover up its ongoing expansion of military capacities by fabricating narratives about threats from neighboring countries, said Sun.

In recent years, Japan has drastically increased military spending, relaxed restrictions on the export of lethal weapons, advanced the deployment of intermediate and long-range missiles, strengthened offensive military capacities, stockpiled large amounts of sensitive nuclear materials, pushed for amending its pacifist constitution, attempted to break free from the three non-nuclear principles, and even clamored for becoming a "war-capable nation," he noted.

"All these facts are proof that Japan's re-militarization has become a real threat to regional and global peace and stability," he said.

Upholding the post-war international order, defending the outcomes of the victory of World War II (WWII), and maintaining regional peace and stability are the shared responsibility of the international community, said the envoy.

"The enemy state clauses in the UN Charter are a vital institutional arrangement aimed at preventing fascism and militarism from threatening international peace and security ever again. They provide important institutional safeguards for defending the post-war international order and remain extremely relevant today," he said.

China urges Japan to draw profound lessons from history and immediately stop its dangerous acts of re-militarization. China also calls on the international community to distinguish right from wrong, remain vigilant, jointly uphold the outcomes of the victory of WWII, and safeguard world peace and stability, he added.