FOR nearly a decade, the United Nations (UN) Security Council has been frequently paralyzed by Russia’s obstinacy over the Syrian crisis. Today, however, it is the United States-China rivalry that has infected a growing array of issues, according to officials and diplomats.
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a ferocious competition erupt between the UN’s two main contributors, prompting the organization’s chief, Antonio Guterres, to bemoan a “lack of leadership” during the world’s worst crisis since 1945.
US-Chinese differences over a passing mention in the draft resolution to the World Health Organization, with which President Donald Trump on May 29 said he planned to sever ties.
Both UN officials and diplomats say the US-Chinese conflict seems to be spreading, leaving them increasingly pessimistic.
“The tensions between the US and China are really problematic for the world body, meaning the Security Council is not able to move forward on a range of things,” one ambassador said, speaking on condition of anonymity. (AFP)
