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Table of Contents
Country Reports
China, Landmine Monitor Report 2003

China

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.