China urges Japan to speed up disposal of abandoned chemical weapons

THE HAGUE, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- China called on Japan to speed up the disposal of abandoned chemical weapons (ACWs) in China during the Conference of the States Parties of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Wednesday in The Hague, the Netherlands.

At the session, delegates reviewed the implementation of decisions by the Conference and the Executive Council on destruction-related issues. Japan submitted a progress report on its ACW disposal efforts in China, noting that its expenditure on the project in 2025 had fallen by 6.8 percent year-on-year.

"This report focuses unilaterally on destruction progress and investment while avoiding any discussion of the fundamental problems," said Wang Daxue, head of the Chinese delegation to the 30th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CSP-30).

Wang stressed that under the Convention, Japan should have completed the destruction of the abandoned chemical weapons by 2007, yet the deadline has been postponed four times. He attributed the delays to Japan's "insufficient attention, inadequate investment, and failure to voluntarily provide meaningful information" about the burial sites of the weapons.

China warned that the Japanese ACWs continue to pose significant risks to the lives and property of Chinese citizens and to the environment. Beijing urged Tokyo to take the concerns of China and the international community seriously, reflect on its history of aggression, honor its commitments, and increase efforts across all aspects of the destruction process.

More than a dozen countries, including Russia, South Africa, and Tunisia, voiced support for China and called on Japan to accelerate the destruction of the weapons.

"The overall progress of destroying the chemical weapons abandoned by Japan on the territory of China was less than expected," said Mirjam Blaak Sow of the Permanent Representation of Uganda to the OPCW, speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement during the general debate on Tuesday. "We urge the abandoning State Party to make the fullest possible efforts to complete the destruction as early as possible. We also look forward to stronger OPCW supervision of the process."

OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias emphasized the significance of the issue at the conference's opening on Monday. "It is important to note that the complete destruction of chemical weapons worldwide can only be achieved once the task of destroying all the chemical weapons abandoned in China is completed," he told member states.