Excerpt
By endorsing India for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, President Obama on Monday signaled the United States’ intention to create a deeper partnership of the world’s two largest democracies that would expand commercial ties and check the influence of an increasingly assertive China.
Mr. Obama’s announcement, made during a nationally televised address to the Indian Parliament, came at the end of a three-day visit to India that won high marks from an Indian political establishment once uncertain of the president’s commitment to the relationship. Even as stark differences remained between the countries on a range of tough issues, including Pakistan, trade policy, climate change and, to some degree, Iran, Mr. Obama spoke of India as an “indispensable” partner for the coming century.
“In Asia and around the world, India is not simply emerging,” he said during his speech in Parliament. “India has emerged.”
BUT...
"Change Will Not Come Easily to the Security Council" by NEIL MacFARQUHAR, New York Times 11/8/2010
Excerpt
The idea of overhauling the Security Council, even by the slow standards of the United Nations, has been under negotiation for about 18 years with no end in sight. Vague talks initiated under the auspices of the Open-Ended Working Group, mocked as the “never ending” committee, gave way in 2009 to what was supposed to be real negotiations.
But those who attend basically read their position papers and then leave, according to diplomats involved; no bartering occurs. Even with real talks, the potential for reaching a consensus are formidable.
The main issues include how to expand the current council beyond 15 seats; whether the seats should be permanent or elected; and whether new permanent members would get a veto. A welter of proposals exist: five new permanent members without veto power plus five more elected for a total of 25, for example, or establishing a middle tier of seats for countries heavily involved in United Nations, who could serve for three or four years.
There is basic agreement that the council, outdated because it reflects the world in 1945 when the United Nations was founded, needs to be expanded to include emerging powers. The council was expanded to 15 members from 11 in 1965, and China took over the permanent seat of the nationalist Chinese in 1971.
But beyond the idea of expansion, any consensus falls apart, with fierce regional rivalries over who might gain new permanent seats making any change problematic, if not impossible. President Obama’s announcement on Monday was novel in that he actually named India as a candidate for a permanent seat.
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