The stern message that the Prime Minister of India delivered at the UN General Assembly’s 75th session on Saturday, that India could not be kept out of the United Nations Security Council, had a sub-text to it. Without mentioning China, it was, nonetheless, a severe indictment of China, because of whose stonewalling tactics India is finding it difficult to find a place on the high table of the UN. The Prime Minister was scathing in reminding the UN of its increasing irrelevance if it refuses to reflect the changed realities 75 years after the world body was formed. While India will be one of the ten non permanent members of the UNSC from January 2021—its eighth time to be so—in real terms the post is ornamental. The actual power vests with the veto wielding P5 members, four of whom are ready to back India. China is the only exception. In fact, one of the biggest failures of the UN has been its inability to curb the totalitarian tendencies of countries such as China. Take for instance the tribunal constituted under the United Nations Convention on Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), which, in 2016, ruled against China and in favour of Philippines in the matter of South China Sea. China just tossed that ruling into the wastepaper basket. Perhaps that ruling was one of the strongest “indictments” of Chinese policies by a UN tribunal, but to no avail. For that matter, what action has the UN taken against China regarding its oppression of Uyghur minorities? What does the UN, whose primary job is to maintain peace and security globally, have to say about Chinese aggression against India? Worse, whatever be the UN’s claims to being a humanitarian organisation, it has proved to be ineffective at a time when a virus originating from China is wreaking havoc across the world. And now China is taking increasing control of the UN itself. China heads four of the UN’s 15 specialised agencies, including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which may help it tweak policies in favour of Chinese telecom companies. Even the World Health Organisation, another specialised UN agency, is under Chinese control for all intents and purposes. The WHO’s inaction in first warning the world about the threat the virus posed and then its inability to get a proper investigation done into the origin of the virus raise serious questions about its credibility. This being the situation, India becoming a veto-wielding member of the UNSC—there has been a suggestion about India joining the UNSC but without veto, but it’s hoped that New Delhi will not accept it—may seem like a miracle. All the more reason to ratchet up pressure on China not only through the G4 platform comprising India, Germany, Japan and Brazil, but also by tapping into the anger of countries around the world that have been left hobbled by the spread of the Wuhan virus. Nations are tiring of Chinese hegemony. This was proved from the way India was able to deliver China a drubbing in the election to the Commission for the Status of Women, which is a part of the UN Economic and Social Council. China could not even cross the halfway mark needed to be elected, while India sailed through. India may have all the qualifications to become a UNSC member, but that is not good enough to corner China. India needs to channelise the world’s anger towards China and hold it accountable for the spread of the Wuhan virus. India currently heads the WHO’s Executive Board and should use this opportunity to stand up to China, instead of being browbeaten to whitewashing China’s misdeeds. It’s India’s responsibility to ensure that justice is done. This is the time for India to be the leader it is meant to be. If it wants to be in UNSC, it has to show to the rest of the world that it means business.
