With China at the head of the UNSC table, India may see a tough March: Report

China will be this month's UNSC president, the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 and revocation of the special status of Kashmir

With China assuming the presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the month of March, India is bound to face a tough month ahead. China’s Permanent Representative Zhang Jun will assume the presidency on Monday, March 2, 2020, according to a report by The Indian Express.

The UNSC follows a rotational system where its five permanent members and 10 non-permanent members enjoy a month-long presidency. The rotation takes place in the alphabetical order. The UNSC president presides over meetings, calls for meetings and oversees any crises.

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This is the first time China will be holding the UNSC presidency since August when Article 370 was abrogated, thereby, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Since then, Beijing has raised the Kashmir issue twice and withdrawn its attempt to raise the issue in December.

After the abrogation of Article 370, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act has gained global attention including last week’s violence in Delhi.

India is likely to see a month of tough discussions and arguments at the security council on Article 370, Kashmir, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and NRC.

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When China had raised the issue in January at Pakistan’s behest, it had failed to achieve an outcome, the Council said that it was not the right forum to raise the issue.

In a closed-door meeting in August too, Beijing attempted to raise the Kashmir issue but the other P5 members thwarted the attempt to discuss Kashmir at the meeting.