USA in the UN Security Council; for example, on February 18, 2011, the USA
vetoed the draft resolution concerning the Middle East situation proposed by the
members of the UN including Finland, Greece, Ireland, etc.
The performance and the degree of cooperation between China and the EU in the
UN Security Council have varied in differentfields. The followingfields indicate
that cooperation and disagreements have occurred between them.
5.2.1 Peacekeeping Operations
China and the EU share common grounds in peacekeeping operations. First, both
sides believe that the UN Peacekeeping Operation (PKO) is an important and
effective means for safeguarding international peace and security, thus both sides
support the active role of the UN on this aspect. Second, both sides hold that
peacekeeping operations shall be decided and authorized by the UN Security
Council according to theCharter of the United Nations. Third, both sides support
cooperation with regional organizations in peacekeeping operations.
Both China and the EU are strong supporters of and active participants in UN
peacekeeping operations. In 1990, China started participating in the UN-led
peacekeeping operation. According to statistics, on February 28, 2013, 1868
peacekeepers from China carried out various tasks in ten peacekeeping areas, and
China was the country sending the largest number of peacekeeping troops among
the permanent members of the UN Security Council.^8 The EU also highly values
peacekeeping work and has established good relations with the UN in thisfield.
The EU and its member states bear about 40 % of the peacekeeping expenses. As of
November, 2006, 11,140 UN peacekeepers came from the EU, accounting for about
13.5 % of the total number of peacekeepers.^9
Though both China and the EU support UN peacekeeping operations, the two
sides have disagreements about the principles of peacekeeping. China insists that
peacekeeping operations should be conducted under three principles put forward by
the former UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold (“the first-generation
peacekeeping principles”). These three principles include: obtain prior consent
from the country where the peacekeeping operation is conducted, strictly observe
neutrality, and refrain from the use of force. This means that UN peacekeeping
troops cannot conduct peacekeeping operations unless prior approval is obtained
from the country where the peacekeeping operation is conducted and they cannot
interfere in internal affairs of the country; moreover, the weapons dedicated to
peacekeeping are used only for self-defense, and counterattack is permitted only in
(^8) Monthly Summary of Military and Police Contribution to United Nations Operations,http://
http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/contributors/index.htm.
(^9) How the European Union and the United Nations Cooperate,http://www.unric.org/html/english/
pdf/Leporello_EU-VN_e.pdf.
110 C. Weidong