By Lyu Desheng
The Abyei is one of the disputed areas between Sudan and South Sudan. In June 2011, the UN Security Council decided to form a United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) to oversee Sudan and South Sudan to withdraw their troops from Abyei. When President Xi Jinping attended the UN Peacekeeping Summit in September 2015, he announced that China will send its first peacekeeping helicopter squad to UN peacekeeping operations in Africa. On July 14, 2022, local time, the 2nd Chinese helicopter squadto Abyei performed four flights delivering jet fuel to multiple UNISFAmission positions.
“Chinese Blue Helmets” setting out for world peace
Since 2013, the Chinese military has dispatched guard contingents, infantry battalions, and helicopter squads to join the UN peacekeeping operations in Mali, South Sudan and Sudan in addition to the original engineering, medical, and transportation contingents. At the moment, there are more than 2,200 Chinese peacekeepers deployed in seven peacekeeping mission areas and at the UN Headquarters. The force structure of the Chinese peacekeeping troops have expanded from a single service to multiple services and arms;the missions transformed from the supportive mission to comprehensive, multi-functionalones; and the mission objectives expanded from stopping armed conflicts to building lasting peace. The Chinese peacekeeping forcehasbecome a key force for UN peacekeeping operations.
Honoring honesty and loyalty, “Chinese Blue Helmets” demonstratethe responsiblemilitaryof a major country
China has registered at the UN an 8,000-strong peacekeeping standby force, dispatched multiple batches of engineering and medical peacekeepers to participate in the UNpeacekeeping missions, and held 20 training sessions for more than 1,500 senior officers of special peacekeeping missions, peacekeeping trainers, professional peacekeeping personnel, female peacekeepers, etc. from over 60 countries... In the new era, the Chinese military, committed to serving the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, has consistently increased its supportfor and participationin the UN peacekeeping operations, winning extensive acclaim in the international community.
Chinese wisdom injects new vigor into UN peacekeeping operations
In recent years, the Chinese military has assigned personnel to lead or join the formulation and revision of multipleaction manuals forspecific peacekeeping fields. The first draft resolution on the safety and security ofpeacekeepers initiated and submitted by China was passed unanimously at the UN Security Council in March 2020. On August 24 and 25, 2022, the Chinese military will host the first “Shared Vision” international peacekeeping forum. This, together with the previously held“Shared Destiny”UNpeacekeeping field training exercise and the “Shared Mission”command postexercise for UN peacekeeping operations, constitute the “Shared” series –an international brand of peacekeepingoperations regularly held by the Chinese military, it will play an important role in the development of UN peacekeeping operations.
The stronger China is, the safer the world will be
Peace is a common wish and lofty goal of the whole humanity. It is generally believed that the UN peacekeeping operations, like a mirror, reflect the fact that China is a peaceful force, and that the stronger China is, the safer the world will be.
As a main fund-contributing country (FCC) for UN’s peacekeeping operations and the largest troop-contributing country (TCC)amongUN Security Council’s permanent members, China has provided a greater variety of public security products for the world in the new era. It is because of its significant contributions to world peace that China has been widely reputed as a “key factor and key force for peacekeeping operations”.
Facts have proven that the Chinese military is always a staunch force in the efforts of preserving world peace, and a growing Chinese military means the growth of peace-guarding forces. As messengers of peace representing the Chinese people, the “Chinese Blue Helmets” will surely make greater contributions to the UN peacekeeping operations.
