Indonesia, China Support Palestine's UN Membership

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia and China have pledged to support Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations (UN), as stated by Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a joint press conference in Jakarta on Thursday, April 18.

The UN Security Council is scheduled to vote next Friday on Palestine's bid to become a full UN member. The 15-member council will begin voting at 15:00 local time at the UN headquarters in New York, coinciding with a meeting on the Middle East.

The draft resolution, introduced by Algeria as the UN Security Council member, recommends that the 193-member UN General Assembly accept the State of Palestine as a UN member.

The resolution will only pass if it receives nine votes in favor and no vetoes from the permanent members, namely the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China.

At the joint press conference, Retno said, “Indonesia will support Palestine's full membership in the UN. Middle East stability will not be achieved without resolving the Palestinian issue.”

The two ministers discussed the ongoing tensions in the Middle East and the impact of retaliatory attacks by Iran and Israel. Retno said she and Wang shared the same view on the importance of all parties in a conflict to exercise restraint.

“And I am sure that the PRC will use its influence to prevent escalation,” Retno said, referring to China's official name, the People's Republic of China.

They expressed resentment over the humanitarian disaster due to the Palestine-Israel conflict and called on involving parties in the Middle East to exercise restraint.

"China calls for Palestine to immediately become an official member of the UN,” Wang said, urging the international community to work together for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.

After meeting with Retno, Wang immediately went to the Jakarta Presidential Palace to pay a courtesy visit to President Joko Widodo or Jokowi. He is also scheduled to chair the High-Level Dialogue Cooperation Mechanism (HDCM) in Labuan Bajo on Friday, together with Retno and Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

NABIILA AZZAHRA A. | REUTERS

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