China To Increase Lebanon Peacekeepers To 1,000
BEIJING (AP)--Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Monday that China will increase its peacekeeping force in Lebanon to 1,000 and double its already pledged humanitarian aid to the Middle Eastern country.
The peacekeeping commitment represents a substantial increase in China's presence in the United Nations force in Lebanon and underscores Beijing's growing strategic interest in the oil-rich Middle East.
China sent 182 peacekeepers to Lebanon at the start of the year- its first peacekeeping contingent to the Middle East - before the clashes in July and August between Israel and the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah.
In announcing the increase in peacekeepers, Wen said China hoped to see Lebanon achieve stability.
"China is very concerned about the situation in Lebanon and hopes it can be fundamentally resolved," Wen said, speaking at a news conference with visiting Italian Premier Romano Prodi.
Wen also said that China would increase its humanitarian assistance to CNY40 million (US$5 million), half of which has already been provided to Lebanon.
Prodi praised China for sending more peacekeepers.
"This shows that China is assuming more and more international responsibility, " Prodi told reporters.
A permanent member of the U.N. Security Council for more than three decades, China has been slow to assume an active role in world politics and peacekeeping. The United States in particular has urged China to take a diplomatic profile that matches its growing economic clout worldwide.
Original article posted here.
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