Key developments since May 2002: China
started mine clearance along the border with Vietnam in Yunnan and Guangxi
provinces following the signing of a border agreement.
Mine Ban Policy
The
People’s Republic of China (PRC) has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty.
Its policy remains the same: China continues to insist on a military requirement
for antipersonnel mines, while acknowledging the importance of a total
prohibition from a humanitarian point of view. In December 2002, a senior
Chinese government official stated that, “there have been discussions for
a long time over whether we should totally ban landmines or set appropriate
restrictions on the use of landmines. In fact, the two aspects are not mutually
contradictory. The landmine ban is our ultimate goal but restrictions on the
use of landmines are the realistic choice at this current
stage.”[1]
China did not officially participate as an observer in the Fourth Meeting of
States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in September 2002, but representatives
from its Geneva Permanent Mission to the UN attended intersessional Standing
Committees meetings in May 2003.
China has abstained from voting on every pro-mine ban UN General Assembly
resolution since 1996, including Resolution 57/74 in November 2002.
China is a State Party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and
its Amended Protocol II and it participated in the Fourth Annual Conference of
States Parties to Amended Protocol II in December 2002. China submitted its
national annual report as required under Article 13 of Amended Protocol II on 10
December 2002. China also produced a documentary film, available on request,
presenting the country’s implementation of the protocol, entitled
“China in Action,” as it had done the year
before.[2]
From 26-28 March 2003, China participated in a regional mine action seminar
held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It also attended the Defense Forum in Tokyo from
28-30 January 2003, in which high-level military personnel discussed the
antipersonnel mine ban in the Asia-Pacific region.
Production, Transfer and Stockpiling
China is known as one
of the world's largest producers of antipersonnel mines. China North Industries
Corporation (NORINCO) and Chinese State Arsenals have been producing
approximately twenty-two types of antipersonnel mines, including six copies of
Soviet
designs.[3]
China reported that since 1997, it has ceased the production of antipersonnel
mines without self-destructive mechanisms and that all the new antipersonnel
mines under research, development and manufacture have self-deactivation and
detection capacities in compliance with the requirements of the CCW Amended
Protocol
II.[4]
In late 1999 China reported that it had destroyed over 1.7 million
antipersonnel
mines.[5]
At the Fourth Annual Conference of States Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II
China announced: “The Chinese military...has accelerated the
transformation of old landmines to bring them into line with Protocol
requirements. Meanwhile, the old landmines that do not conform to technical
Protocol requirements are being destroyed in stages and in
groups.”[6] The 2002
Article 13 report did not provide any detailed information on this destruction.
In response to an inquiry by Landmine Monitor, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign
Affairs said that information on the stockpile and destroyed landmines was
confidential.[7]
China’s 1996 moratorium on the export of
antipersonnel mines that do not conform to Amended Protocol II requirements was
reaffirmed in December 2002, when a senior official commented, “Since
April 1996, China has stringently abided by its commitment to the moratorium on
the export of anti-personnel landmines incompatible with the technical
specifications contained in the amended Landmine
Protocol.”[8]Landmine Monitor is not aware of any antipersonnel mines of any type
being exported from China since that time. Numerous Mine Ban Treaty States
Parties, including Albania, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Djibouti, Gabon, Tanzania,
Thailand, Uganda, Zambia, and possibly Algeria, have declared antipersonnel
mines of Chinese origin in Article 7 transparency reports. Gabon reported
acquiring its Chinese mines in
1994-1995.[9]
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has never responded to Landmine
Monitor requests for clarification on the number of stockpiled antipersonnel
mines. Based on interviews with non-Chinese government officials involved in
Protocol II discussions, Landmine Monitor has estimated the Chinese
antipersonnel mine stockpile at 110 million, including perhaps 100 million Type
72 mines.
Landmine Problem and Mine Clearance
China
has used antipersonnel mines along its borders with Russia, India, and Vietnam,
planting an estimated ten million mines along these borders over the
years.[10]
After major clearance operations from 1992-1999, China reported that the mine
threat on the Chinese side along the border with Vietnam “has been
basically
removed.”[11]
In December 2002, however, China reported that new mine clearance activities had
started along its border with Vietnam following the signing of a bilateral
border agreement, in which the two counties agreed to complete technical surveys
of mined areas by 2005.[12] The
Chinese military, in charge of mine clearance activities on the Chinese side of
the border, started technical surveys and mine clearance in Yunnan and Guangxi
provinces in October 2002.[13]
In Yunnan province, the minefields that exist in an area of 54 million square
meters are apparently marked with warning
signs.[14] The President
of the China Disabled People’s Federation (CDPF) said that local residents
were aware of mine markings and children were taught the risks both at school
and at home, but noted the mines could be washed away onto farmland or elsewhere
following heavy rains.[15]
The danger to civilians from mines laid along China's borders with India and
Russia are reported to be
minimal.[16]
Mine Action Assistance
In
2002, China donated US$3 million of demining equipment to Eritrea and
Lebanon.[17] In September 2002,
the government sent 14 demining experts to Eritrea for four months to provide
training on mine clearance to 60 Eritrean
deminers.[18] In its Article 13
Report, China stated that under the guidance of its experts, Eritrean deminers
destroyed 11 landmines and 24 UXO, clearing 84,000 square meters of land in 14
days.[19] Another group of 18
Chinese mine clearance advisors directed mine clearance efforts in Eritrea from
March to June 2003.[20] In
November 2002, China and Lebanon signed an agreement under which the Chinese
government donated mine clearance equipment, including 50 metal detectors and
100 sets of protective gear.[21]
In November 2002, China also sent a group of demining experts to Afghanistan to
conduct a survey on the landmine problem in certain
areas.[22]
Landmine Casualties
Data on landmine
casualties is generally not publicly available; however, casualties are known to
have occurred in 2002 and early 2003 in Yunnan
province.[23]
In a 2001 field survey, Landmine Monitor identified 5,310 mine casualties in
the Wenshan prefecture of the Yunnan province, including 3,811
survivors.[24]
In 2002, Landmine Monitor was not allowed to conduct field surveys in the Honghe
and Simao prefectures in the Yunnan province, but the local CDPF office provided
a report on landmine
survivors.[25]
Survivor Assistance, Disability Policy and Practice
A 2001 field survey by
Landmine Monitor in some mine-affected areas of Guangxi and Yunnan provinces
showed that adequate assistance is problematic as the mine-affected areas are
usually a long way from medical and rehabilitation
facilities.[26]
In February 2003, Landmine Monitor conducted a field survey of rehabilitation
services for persons with disabilities in Yunnan Province and identified the
main service providers. CDPF runs six rehabilitation centers for all types of
disability in Kunming, 103 rehabilitation stations in urban areas, and 131 in
rural areas; some rehabilitation services are also provided by private
centers.[27] The government,
CDPF, and private organizations run prosthetic workshops. The Ministry of Civil
Affairs runs one workshop in Kunming and a temporary workshop in Wenshan. CDPF
established eight workshops in Chuxiong, Dali, Honghe, Kunming, Wenshan, Yuxi
and Zhaotong, and plans to establish two in Simao and Linlun, with funding from
the Hong Kong-based Li Jia Cheng Fund. Ten Lin, a Taiwanese corporation,
established a workshop in Kunming. Project Grace, a USA-registered NGO, has a
workshop in Kunming and provides free prostheses for poverty-stricken persons
with disabilities. Ten Lin and Project Grace do not specifically cover landmine
survivors.[28]
In Wenshan County, landmine survivors receive support from the Post-War
Recovery Foundation, the CDPF, and the Ministry of Civil
Affairs.[29] The Post-War
Recovery Foundation provides assistance to the survivors of the Sino-Vietnamese
War, including financial support for prostheses, road maintenance in their
communities, distribution of educational books, and financial aid for pig
breeding, poultry farming, and tree
planting.[30] CDPF provides
prostheses at a discount price, and food and accommodation while waiting for
prostheses. CDPF monitors the conditions of survivors by conducting field visits
every year. The Ministry of Civil Affairs of Yunnan and Shanghai Provinces give
financial aid for prostheses through the CDPF.
The policy of the Chinese government towards persons with disabilities is
established in the 10th Five-year Plan (2001–2005). Priorities
include improvement of the quality of life of persons with disabilities,
rehabilitation, formal education, employment, and construction of regional
facilities. In Yunnan Province, only one-eighth of the targets established in
the 10th Five-year Plan have been
achieved.[31] Rehabilitation
services are available to persons with disabilities provided they can pay for
the services. This is often beyond the means of disabled people, as many live
in poverty in rural areas and are dependent on their
families.[32]
[1] Statement by Ambassador Sha Zukang at
the Fourth Annual Conference of States Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II,
Geneva, 11 December 2002. [2]
Ibid. [3] For additional details see
Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp.
457-458. [4] Article 13 Report, 10
December 2001, p. 5. [5] Article 13
Report, October 1999. [6] Statement by
Ambassador Sha Zukang at the Forth Annual Conference of States Parties to CCW
Amended Protocol II, Geneva, 11 December 2002, p.
3. [7] Fax from Song Danhui, Desk
Officer, Department of Arms Control and Disarmament, 3 March
2003. [8] Statement by Ambassador Sha
Zukang at the Forth Annual Conference of States Parties to CCW Amended Protocol
II, 11 December 2002, p. 3. [9] Gabon
Article 7 Report, Form B, 25 September
2002. [10] US Department of State,
“Hidden Killers 1994,” p. 18, and “Hidden Killers 1998,”
Table A-1. [11] Ministry of National
Defense, Postwar Demining Operations in China, December 1999, p. 11. Before the
clearance operations, there were more than 560 minefields covering an area of
over 300 square kilometers. [12] Article
13 Report, December 2002, p. 5. [13] The
areas included the eight cities of Fangcheng, Ningming, Pingxiang, Longzhou, and
Jingxi in Guangxi Province, and the two cities of Wenshan and Honghe in Yunnan
Province. Article 13 Report, December 2002, p.
5. [14] Interview with Miao Yuyong,
Secretary, Post-War Recovery Foundation, Wenshan, 26 February
2003. [15] Interview with Ma Ying Ming,
President, China Disabled People’s Federation of Wenshan, 27 February
2003. [16] US Department of State,
“Hidden Killers 1994,” p.
18. [17] Article 13 Report, 10 December
2002, p. 7. [18] Letter to Elizabeth
Bernstein, ICBL Coordinator, from Liu Jieyi, Director-General, Department of
Arms Control and Disarmament, PR China, 21 February
2003. [19] Article 13 Report, 10
December 2002, p. 6. [20] “Chinese
mine sweeping experts return from Eritrea,” Xinhua, 18 June
2003. [21] Article 13 Report, 10
December 2002, p. 6. [22] Statement by
Ambassador Sha Zukang at the Fourth Annual Conference of States Parties to CCW
Amended Protocol II, Geneva, 11 December 2002, p.
4. [23] Interview with an official,
Yunnan province, February 2003. [24] See
Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp.
530-531. [25] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2002, p. 639. [26] See Landmine
Monitor Report 2001, pp. 531-533. [27]
Interview with Shi Yanping, Director of Rehabilitation, CDPF of Yunnan Province,
Kunming, 24 February 2003. [28]
Interview with Zhang Yu Sheng, Manager, Ten Lin, Kunming, 24 February 2003 and
Wu Cheng Ching, Workshop Manager, Project Grace, Kunming, 25 February
2003. [29] Interview with Ma Ying Ming,
President, CDPF of Wenshan, 27 February
2003. [30] A visit to the Post-War
Recovery Foundation in Kunming was not authorized on 25 February
2003. [31] Interview with Shi Yanping,
Director of Rehabilitation, CDPF of Yunnan Province, Kunming, 24 February 2003.
A visit to CDPF rehabilitation centers was not approved by CDPF of Yunnan
Province. [32] Tong Jiyu and Shi Yaping,
Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) in Social Changes (Kunming: the
People’s Publication of Yunnan, 2001), pp. 15-18.