by Karl Malakunas*

China yesterday expressed "deep concern" over Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia, warning the move could lead to chaos in the Balkans.
"The unilateral approach by Kosovo may cause a series of consequences and lead to severe negative influences on the peace and stability of the Balkan region," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in a statement.
"China expresses deep concern about this."
Going ahead without United Nations' endorsement, Kosovo's Albanian-dominated parliament on Sunday unilaterally declared independence from Serbia.
The United States and some European Union members said they would recognise the move, but Serbia vowed on Sunday to keep Kosovo inside its borders through "peaceful" means.
Serbia is backed by Russia, and Moscow called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Sunday but failed to secure backing for its call to declare the declaration of independence "null and void."
China, one of five permanent members of the Security Council, said it was unhappy Kosovo had acted without getting agreement from the world powers through the UN, but stopped short of expressing outright opposition.
"The resolution of the problem of Kosovo is related to the peace and stability of the Balkan region, the authority and function of the Security Council and the basic principle of international relations," Liu said.
"China has all along thought the best way to resolve the Kosovo problem is to get an acceptable plan for all, via bilateral negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo."
Zhang Yao, a researcher from the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, said China had wanted the UN to take the lead on the issue.
"There's a serious dispute in the UN about this ... and from a legal point of view, Kosovo's independence should be announced by the UN, not Kosovo itself," Zhang said.
"At the moment, it's too early for China to think about the issue of recognising Kosovo because such an issue should be proposed by the UN first."
Beijing would also be observing the developments in Kosovo with some concern as they could give hope to independence-minded ethnic minorities in China, according to Shi Yajun, a professor at Shanghai's East China Normal University.
Some groups in the Muslim-majority Xinjiang region in China's far northwest and the devoutly Buddhist Himalayan region of Tibet are known to harbour ambitions of independence or autonomy.
"This (Kosovo) is a very sensitive issue for China. It could have some effects (for independence activists) as a demonstration of what can happen. But I don't think it will have a substantial impact," Shi said.
One other potential problem for China is that long-time rival Taiwan may jump in ahead of the Beijing authorities and seek recognition with Kosovo.
China and Taiwan split at the end of a civil war in 1949, and the mainland insists the two sides will eventually reunify under Beijing's control, by force if necessary.
Taiwan, meanwhile, with official diplomatic ties with 23 countries, was continuing a rearguard effort for international recognition, congratulating Kosovo on Monday for winning its independence.
Nevertheless, Zhang said it would be difficult for Taiwan to establish diplomatic relations with Kosovo, because politicians in Pristina would be well aware such a move would infuriate China.
If China was angered over the Taiwan issue, it would not back any UN recognition of Kosovo, Zhang warned.
"If Kosovo wants to be recognised by the world, it mainly depends on the UN Security Council... China is a permanent member of the council, so if Kosovo has any relations with Taiwan, China won't give Kosovo anything good," he said.

*AFP