WikiLeaks: China told US not to be proactive on UNSC reforms

Concerned over the momentum being built over reforms in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC),China had asked the US not to be proactive on the matter as it feared that the P-5 club would be diluted,classified papers released by whistleblower website WikiLeaks reveal. While the US remained non-committal on the reforms,it requested Beijing for a supply route for non-lethal goods to US troops in Afghanistan through China,the papers,which pertain to a conversation between a top Chinese leader with a senior US diplomat at Beijing in April 2009,reveal. The name of the Chinese leader has not been disclosed by the website but the conversation indicates his status as central to foreign affairs policy of Beijing. The paper is a transcript of a conversation of the unnamed leader with the US Charge dAffaires in Beijing,Dan Piccuta. The conversation took place last year before President Barack Obama announced his support for Indias candidature for a permanent seat in the UNSC. China wanted the United States to maintain its position on UNSC reform and not be proactive on the matter,which the PRC feared could result in a UN General Assembly resolution on the subject, the paper reads. It adds that China has concerns about the dilution of the Permanent 5 club. The P-5 club should not be diluted,XXXX said. If we end up with a P-10,both China and the United States would be in trouble, Piccutas account of the conversation,that took place over lunch,reads.The leaked cables reveal the anxiety of the Chinese leadership over the expansion of the Security Council and its specific objections to Japans candidature for the council,citing that it would be difficult for the Chinese public to accept the nation as a permanent member. India is not specifically mentioned in the conversation. While holding that it did not see any expansion of the UNSC that did not include Japan,the US remained non committal on the issue.