Radio Free Asia by Drake Long 8/25/2020
China’s candidate has won an election to be a judge on a key United Nations-affiliated agency responsible for hearing cases concerning the Law of the Sea, despite U.S. opposition to what it views as Beijing’s growing influence in international organizations.
Duan Jielong, the current Chinese ambassador to Hungary and a law school graduate of Columbia University and China Foreign Affairs University, will sit as one of 21 judges at the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). It is the international legal body responsible for adjudicating disputes related to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS.
Duan was nominated by China to represent Asia and won his seat unopposed on Monday, with 149 out of 166 votes gathered among member-states of the tribunal. Seventeen member-states abstained.
“China's success in the election illustrates once again that [a] certain country's suppression of the Chinese nominee out of selfish interest is both unwelcome and futile,†China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at his daily conference in Beijing, alluding to the United States’ last-minute effort to stop China’s pick from winning.
At a think tank conference on the South China Sea last month, David Stilwell, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said the U.S. was concerned about China’s nomination of its judge to ITLOS and urged other countries against voting for the candidate.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo echoed these concerns at a hearing in the U.S. Senate on July 30, where he requested funding for a special team at the State Department that would push back on China’s growing domination of UN agencies and international organizations.
More:
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/tribunal-08252020174828.html
