China
As a long standing ally of Pakistan, the people 's Republic of China with alarm to the evolving situation in East Pakistan and te prospect of India invading West Pakistan and Pakistani controlled Kashmir . Believing that that such an Indian attack was imminent, Nixon encouraged China to mobilize its armed forces along its border with India to discourage such an eventuality, the Cinese did not , however, respond in this manner and instead threw their weight behind demands for an immediate cease fire. China did, however, coninue to supply Pakistan with arms and aid. It is belived that had China taken action against India to protect West Pakistan then the Soviet Union would have military action againsst china. One Pakistani writer had speculated that China chose not to attack India because Himalayan passes were snow bound in the wintry monthsof Nov and Dec.
United Nations
Though the United Nations condemned the humanrights violations, it failed to diffuse the situation politically before the the start of the war. The secretary council assembled on 4 Dec to discuss the volatile situation in South Asia. USSR vetoed the resolution twice. After lengthy discussions on 7 Dec, the General Assembly promptly adopted by a majority resolution calling for an immediate cease fire and withdrawal of troops. he United States on 12 Dec requested that the Security Council be reconvened . However by the time it was reconvened and proposals were finalised, the war had ended, making the measures merely academic.
The inaction of the United Nations in face of the East pakistan crisis was widely criticised . The conflict also exposed the the delay in decision making that failed to address the underlying issues in time.
