Mr. President, 

After the Nord Stream pipelines explosion in September last year, many members of the Council, including China, immediately expressed concern about the major negative impact arising therefrom on the global energy supply, ecological environment, and shipping security. This vicious act of sabotage affects the security of not only Europe, but also global cross-country infrastructure. It bears on the interests and concerns of every country to conduct an objective, impartial, and professional investigation into the incident in order to make the investigation results public as soon as possible and hold the perpetrators accountable.

China supports authorizing the UN to set up an international independent investigation commission to investigate the incident. We thank Russia for circulating the draft resolution, taking over a month to organize in-depth consultations among members of Council and demonstrating a flexible and open attitude by incorporating amendments from China and other members into the draft resolution. China regrets the result of the voting on the draft resolution on the North Stream pipelines that just concluded. 

Mr. President, 

Some members believe that there is no need for the Council to authorize an international investigation as relevant countries are conducting national investigations. In fact, international and national investigations do not contradict one another. On the contrary, an international investigation under the auspices of the UN can play a coordinating role among different national investigations, ensure the completeness and integrity of the chain of custody, and make the investigation findings more authoritative and widely acceptable.

Some members opined that conclusions of national investigations should be drawn before international investigations are to be considered. As a matter of fact, it has been more than half a year since the explosions of the Nord Stream pipelines. If an international investigation is to be carried on at all, evidence must be collected the soonest. The process must not drag on, lest it becomes harder to collect evidence and thus affects the investigation results.

Some members advised against making groundless speculations,  accusations, or pre-determining investigation results. In fact, authorizing the UN to launch an international investigation is precisely the best way to respond to speculations and allegations. If the countries concerned welcome with open arms the Security Council’s mandate for an international investigation into the North Stream explosion, they can at least have some semblance of a clear conscience. If however the countries concerned are hesitant to support the Council’s authorization of an international investigation, it only makes people think that there might be something hidden behind the scene.

Mr. President,

Although Council members have not yet reached an agreement authorizing any international investigation, we all support finding out the truth and bringing the perpetrators to justice at an early date. China hopes that countries carrying out national investigations will embrace an elevated sense of urgency, report the progress of their investigations to the Council timely and regularly, and identify and publish their findings as early as possible. The Security Council has the responsibility to remain seized of this incident, including by holding regular briefings and taking necessary further actions in an effort to discharge effectively its responsibilities for maintaining international peace and security.

Thank you, Mr. President.