Text of the Speech made by Mr. Hsueh (China) in the Security Council Meeting No. 1115 held on 12 May 1964
Text of the Speech made by Mr. Hsueh (China) in the Security Council Meeting No. 1115 held on 12 May 1964
We have so far heard two statements each, from Pakistan and from India, during this resumed debate on the Kashmir question. All of them were forceful and well-documented statements in support of the positions respectively taken by the two parties. They are helpful to the members of the Security Council in that they further clarify the many points at issue in this question. My delegation has studied them with all the attention they deserve.
We feel somewhat disappointed because the statements, taken together, have not presented to the Council a picture much brighter than what has obtained in the past, rather they resemble in tone and in many points of substance those statements made by the two parties earlier this year when the communal disturbances in India and in Pakistan seriously strained their relations.
It appears that a good deal of the suspicion and the mistrust between the two neighbours still remains. We had been expecting a more favourable atmosphere during this debate, for in the interval between the last session of the Security Council and the present one there have been, in the view of my delegation, some hopeful and encouraging developments here. I refer first of all to the subsiding of the communal disturbances. The situation in India and in Pakistan, though not yet completely normal, has become much calmer. There has been a discernible improvement in this respect since the Security Council last considered the question in February and March 1964.
Secondly, as referred to by the Minister of Education of India in his statement last Thursday, initial contact has been made for direct talks between the responsible officials of India and Pakistan. This is certainly an important move which, if continued, will help solve impending difficulties and generally improve the relations of the two countries.
Then of course there is the release of the Kashmiri leader, Sheikh Abdullah, which occurred a little over a month ago. It is reported that, in his recent talks with leaders of India, Sheikh Abdullah has made suggestions for a solution of the Kashmir question. This, my delegation ventures to think, is also an important positive element in the situation.
All these events appear to my delegation to be signs indicating a turn for the better. It is the hope of my delegation that the debate here in the Council will not only reflect such a trend, but also create an atmosphere conducive to more favourable developments. It ts only in this way that the Council can be helpful in this dispute, deadlocked so long. I am sure that both India and Pakistan have come to the Security Council with the Kashmir question not just for a debate but for a settlement. One common. denominator is that the prolonged dispute over Kashmir is detrimental to the interests of both parties.
The Minister of Education of India, in his statements, has referred repeatedly to the armed attacks on India's eastern border. It is only too obvious that India would have been in a much better position to meet such attacks had the Kashmir question been settled. I should like to add that India will not be the only country in the area to be threatened by such a perilous danger if the situation created by the Kashmir question should be allowed to continue for exploitation by aggressive forces. It is most deplorable that armed attacks coming from China, as mentioned by the Minister of Education of India, should have occurred. China and India have lived peacefully as neighbours for centuries. The Chinese people have always cherished the long history of peaceful relations with India, characterised by mutually beneficial exchanges in trade and in culture. There may have been disputes in the past between the two countries; there was never any armed conflict until recent years. This is another evidence of the fact that the militant, warlike regime imposed on our people on the mainland provinces of China does not represent their will and their civilization.
The position taken by the Security Council on the Kashmir question is well known. All its relevant resolutions. are in the books. The Council has been consistent in all these sixteen years in holding that, in the absence of an agreement between India and Pakistan, the question cannot be solved without regard to the principle of self-determination. While the Council must uphold the principle, it cannot impose a solution which is not acceptable to either of the two parties. Within the framework of the resolutions of the Council and, above all, the principles of the Charter, the modalities by which a settlement may be effected could be discussed for agreement between the parties. Adjustments could be made to meet the changes in the conditions throughout these years and to accommodate the different views of both parties.
Therefore, the Council should urge the two parties to take advantage of the recent favourable developments in the situation and make further efforts to improve their relations. The Council should also call upon them to resume negotiations at the earliest possible date, with a view to arriving at a mutually agreeable settlement in accordance with the spirit of the Charter and with due regard to the United Nations actions.
My delegation agrees with what has been said by the previous speakers about the role which the Secretary-General may be persuaded to play in helping in the search for a solution to the question. I wish to recall my statement made at the 1012th meeting of the Council on 15 June 1962 when I made mention of the possible help from the Secretary-General. My delegation feels that the Secretary-General, coming from a country neighbouring both India and Pakistan, is in a special position to have intimate knowledge and appreciation of the intricacies of the problem. At an appropriate time the parties concerned may very well avail themselves of the services of the Secretary-General.