China raises Fukushima water issue in UN, asks Japan to stop discharge

China has raised the issue of wasterwater release from Fukushima nuclear plant in the United Nations and urged Japan to immediately stop the operation. China has termed release of nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean a selfish and irresponsible act.

The issue was raised at a plenary meeting of the United Nations General Assembly called to discuss co-operation between the UN and the Pacific Islands Forum on Friday (August 25).

Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN said that Japan decided release of wastewater unilaterally disregarding public interests. This, said China, has caused risk of nuclear pollution.

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"So far Japan has failed to address the major concerns of the international community about the long-term reliability of nuclear-contaminated water purification devices, the authenticity and accuracy of nuclear-contaminated water data, and the sophistication and validity of the discharge monitoring program. China and other stakeholders have repeatedly pointed out that if the nuclear-contaminated water is safe, then there is no need to discharge it into the sea; if it is not safe, it should not be discharged," Geng said.

He stated that though Japan has referred to the report from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the agency has has stressed that the water discharge is a national decision by Japan and its report is neither a recommendation nor an endorsement of that policy.

"The IAEA report cannot serve as a 'pass' for Japan to push forward the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water. The report cannot grant Japan legitimacy for the discharge, nor can it absolve Japan from its moral responsibility and obligations to international law," Geng said.

He said that ocean is the common property of all mankind and twleve years after the Fukushima disaster, Japanese government's decision to launch the discharge plan was in disregard to doubts and opposition from the international community. This, he said, would cause secondary harm to locals and even people of the world.

Geng said that China urges Japan to stop the wrongdoing and stop the discharge. He also asked Japan to communicate with neighboring countries with sincerity and good will, dispose of the nuclear-contaminated water in a responsible manner and accept rigorous international oversight.

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