The United Nations Security Council is expected to vote next week on a Bahrain resolution to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, diplomats said on Friday, but China, which has veto power, has made clear its opposition to any authorization of the use of force.
A meeting of the 15 members of the Council was initially scheduled for this Friday and then rescheduled for Saturday. Several diplomats said it had been postponed until next week, without a new date having been announced.
Bahrain’s mission to the UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reason for the delay. The resolution faced resistance from China, Russia and other countries and was watered down from its original form.
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Oil prices have soared since the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February, sparking a conflict that has lasted more than a month and effectively closed the strait to maritime traffic.
Bahrain, which currently chairs the Security Council, finalized a draft resolution on Thursday that would authorize ‘all necessary defensive means’ to protect commercial shipping.
Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani told the council on Thursday that a vote would be held on Friday, ‘God willing’, and added that Bahrain expected a ‘unified position from this esteemed council’.
Bahrain, supported in its efforts to secure a resolution by other Gulf Arab states and Washington, had already withdrawn an explicit reference to mandatory enforcement in an attempt to overcome objections from other nations, especially Russia and China.
A fourth draft of a resolution was placed under the so-called silent procedure for approval until Thursday at 1pm (Brasília time). Diplomats said the silence was broken by China, France and Russia, but a text was later finalized, or ‘blued’ in UN parlance, meaning a vote could take place.
The finalized draft resolution authorizes the measures ‘for a period of at least six months (…) and until the Council decides otherwise’.
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However, in comments to the Security Council on Thursday morning, China’s envoy to the UN, Fu Cong, opposed authorizing the use of force.
