UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE www.usip.org SPECIAL REPORT 2301 Constitution Ave., NW • Washington, DC 20037 • 202.457.1700 • fax 202.429.6063 ABOUT THE REPORT Marc Lanteigne This Special Report assesses China’s evolving participation in international peacekeeping missions in the context of its rise as a major economic and military power. The report is based on data collection on Chinese foreign and security policy issues as well as fieldwork in China and Norway. Supported by the Asia The Role of UN Center at the United States Institute of Peace, the report is part of USIP’s broader effort to understand China’s engagement in the peace processes and internal conflicts of other nations. Peacekeeping in ABOUT THE AUTHOR Marc Lanteigne is a senior lecturer in security studies in the China’s Expanding Centre for Defence and Security Studies at Massey University in New Zealand. Previously, he was a senior research fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, where he specialized in Chinese and Northeast Asian politics and foreign Strategic Interests policy, as well as Asia-Arctic relations, international political economy, and institution building. He has written on issues related to China’s regional and international relations as well as Summary economic security, the politics of trade, and energy issues. • Despite its growing status in the international system, including in the military sphere, China continues to be a strong supporter of United Nations peacekeeping operations (UNPKO), a stance commonly considered to be more the purview of medium powers. China is also a major contributor of peacekeeping personnel and support. • Beijing’s current UN peacekeeping policies have helped China expand its diplomacy through- out the developing world, a notable action given the ongoing evolution of its Belt and Road trade initiatives. • In spite of recent Chinese peacekeeper casualties, the country continues preparations— © 2018 by the United States Institute of Peace. including new training programs and units—to permit its peacekeeping personnel to more All rights reserved. effectively operate in active combat zones such as Mali and South Sudan. SPECIAL REPORT 430 SEPTEMBER 2018 • China is now in a position to become more active in UNPKO reforms and provide greater input into mission parameters, given its greater contribution to the UN budget and expanded CONTENTS international commitments. Introduction 2 • China’s support for UN peacekeeping operations has become more visibly integrated into its China’s Positive Stance on UN Peacekeeping 2 military reform policies. However, Beijing must engage in a policy dialogue about how modern Emerging Challenges 4 peacekeeping can be reconciled with traditional Chinese views on state sovereignty, impartial- Conclusion 5 ity, and being a “responsible great power.” ABOUT THE INSTITUTE Introduction The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan institution established and funded by Congress. Although China is now almost universally acknowledged as a great power and a potential Its goals are to help prevent and resolve violent conflicts, global power, Beijing continues to approach United Nations peacekeeping operations promote postconflict peacebuilding, and increase conflict (UNPKO) with policies more akin to those of a medium power. For much of the Cold War management tools, capacity, and intellectual capital period, China was highly skeptical of the concept of United Nations peacekeeping, but the worldwide. The Institute does this by empowering others past thirty years have seen a dramatic reversal of this view and a greater acceptance of with knowledge, skills, and resources, as well as by its direct participation in peacekeeping operations as a major component of Beijing’s still-evolving involvement in conflict zones around the globe. “military operations other than war” (MOOTW) policies. Among the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China con- BOARD OF DIRECTORS tinues to be the largest contributor of personnel for UN peacekeeping operations (see table Stephen J. Hadley (Chair), Principal, RiceHadleyGates, LLC, 1). As of July 31, 2018, 2,519 Chinese UN personnel were stationed abroad, nearly 3 percent Washington, DC • George E. Moose (Vice Chair), Adjunct Professor of Practice, The George Washington University, Wash- of the 91,249 UN peacekeepers deployed around the world. Since the early 1990s, China has ington, DC • Judy Ansley, Former Assistant to the President and deployed approximately 36,000 personnel for UN missions.1 Beijing also agreed to raise its Deputy National Security Advisor under George W. Bush, Wash- annual contribution to the UNPKO budget from 3.9 percent in 2012 to 10.3 percent between ington, DC • Eric Edelman, Hertog Distinguished Practitioner 2016 and 2018, thus making China the second-largest financial contributor after the United in Residence, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International States.2 At the end of 2016, it was even reported that Beijing was seeking the leadership of the Studies, Washington, DC • Joseph Eldridge, University Chaplain UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, a position that to date has been dominated by and Senior Adjunct Professorial Lecturer, School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC • Kerry Kennedy, France. Even though China has demonstrated a deepening commitment to and greater visibil- President, Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human ity in UNPKO, there has yet to be a Chinese national as head of a major peacekeeping mission.3 Rights, Washington, DC • Ikram U. Khan, President, Quality Care China’s commitment to UN peacekeeping was further underscored in September 2015, Consultants, LLC, Las Vegas, NV • Stephen D. Krasner, Graham when President Xi Jinping announced in a speech to the UN General Assembly that China H. Stuart Professor of International Relations at Stanford would be creating a standby UN contingent of 8,000 Chinese personnel, with some forces University, Palo Alto, CA • John A. Lancaster, Former Executive being seconded to a rapid-response force. That year, China also agreed to join the UN’s Director, International Council on Independent Living, Potsdam, NY • Jeremy A. Rabkin, Professor of Law, George Mason Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System, and pledged a ten-year, $1 billion UN Peace and University, Fairfax, VA • J. Robinson West, Chairman, PFC Development Trust Fund for joint China-UN peace initiatives.4 Energy, Washington, DC • Nancy Zirkin, Executive Vice At present, the main question is will Beijing be able to continue this level of engagement President, Leadership Conference on Civil and with UN peacekeeping as China evolves as a great power? Unlike medium powers such as Human Rights, Washington, DC Australia, Canada, and South Korea—which tend to be perceived as “joiner” states and non- partisan actors—great powers often are less likely to remain neutral, or to be seen as such, MEMBERS EX OFFICIO in policies addressing international or civil conflicts.5 As a result, great powers such as the Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State • James Mattis, Secretary of United States and Russia have been less inclined to participate directly in UN peacekeeping Defense • Frederick J. Roegge, Vice Admiral, US Navy; operations beyond a support role, although both countries have considerably more forces President, National Defense University • Nancy Lindborg, deployed as part of non-UN missions. While the US government called for drastic cuts to its President, United States Institute of Peace (nonvoting) contributions to the UN peacekeeping budget in April 2017, it has since softened that stance while still vowing to hold to nothing more than a 25 percent share of the overall budget.6 Washington’s potential retreat from UNPKO may therefore open the door to further Chinese influence in peacekeeping development. China’s Positive Stance on UN Peacekeeping Ever since China began to reform the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in late 2015, UN peace- keeping has been an integral part of the restructuring processes. China will likely continue to invest in peacekeeping for four main reasons. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily First, China’s “rise” has been both strategic and economic in nature and, compared with reflect the views of the United States Institute of Peace, that of previous great powers, has taken place very swiftly. This rapid rise has created which does not advocate specific policy positions. concerns, especially in the United States, that despite China’s earlier “peaceful develop- To request permission to photocopy or reprint materials, ment” foreign policies, the Xi government is becoming more confident in challenging the email: [email protected]. strategic status quo. This concern has increased as China’s power-projection capabilities have 2 USIP.ORG • SPECIAL REPORT 430 Table 1. Contributions to UN Peacekeeping Operations by the Five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council (as of July 31, 2018) UN Military Staff Country Police Experts on Officers Troops Total Mission China 18 32 51 2,418 2,519 France 34 2 49 650 735 United Kingdom 0 4 27 674 705 Russia 29 37 5 0 71 United States 93410 53 Source: United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations matured. China’s shift has been especially noticeable in the territorial disputes in the East and the South China Seas, as well as in Beijing’s growing interest in the Indian Ocean region. By maintaining support for multilateral security initiatives,