Respect history before staking claim for UNSC: China to Japan

Maintaining its ambiguous stand on the expansion of the UNSC, China today said Japan should respect history and refrain from challenging the gains of WWII before staking claim to the top UN organ.
"China's stance on [this matter] is consistent," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a media briefing here.
His comments came after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered a speech at the UN General Assembly and sought international community's support for Tokyo's application for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council.
Japan along with India, Brazil and Germany made a strong bid in recent years for expansion of the current list of five permanent members in the 15-member UNSC, the most powerful body of the UN system.

China, France, Russia, the UK and the US are the five veto-wielding permanent members of the UNSC.
Hong said UNSC reform concerns the UN's long-term development and the vital interests of its 193 member states.
He said all UN members, including those aspiring to play a bigger role at the UNSC, should first respect history and not challenge the accomplishments of the world's anti-fascist war.
While China was explicit in its opposition to Japan's bid for UNSC permanent member seat, it has remained non-committal about India's bid maintaining that it recognises New Delhi's aspiration to play a bigger role in the UNSC.