BEIJING - Experts warned the United States against cutting off its funding to UNESCO in response to Palestine joining the UN cultural body, noting that its projects have already been undermined by a shortage of funding.

UNESCO member states voted by a margin of 107 to 14 on Oct 31 in favor of Palestine being accepted as a full member of the organization.

Zheng Qirong, a UN studies expert at China Foreign Affairs University, said the US should accept the reality and accordingly change its overbearing conduct when dealing with the Palestinian issue.

"It is unwise for the US to cut its funding to UNESCO. This is an expression of international public opinion, and no matter how powerful a country is, it should always respect such views," Zheng said.

Palestinian membership could prove very costly for UNESCO. The US, which accounts for around 22 percent of the organization's annual budget, threatened to cut its $60 million funding to the agency as a result of Palestine's membership. Israel and Canada would also halt their payments.

The impact of this could be disastrous for UNESCO.

Zheng said that with a loss of funding on this scale, UNESCO would lose more than a quarter of its financial contributions, threatening its "normal operations" and leading to possible staff cuts and the axing of projects.

Threatening to cut its funding to UNESCO reveals the high-handed nature of the US in dealing with international issues, Zheng said.

In fact, even before the US announced it might cut its funding for UNESCO, some research projects in China had already been stopped as a result of financial constraints.

The Chinese Center of Marine Biotechnology under Ocean University of China, established in 1995, was supported by the agency and received $270,000 in the following years.

But Chi Zhenming, a researcher with the center, said it stopped cooperating with UNESCO six or seven years ago, and has insufficient funds.

"Now since they are in financial trouble, it is no use for us to contact them."

Some other UN agencies are also sensing the potential influence of US funding cuts. Fadela Chaib, spokeswoman of the World Health Organization (WHO), whose constitution is similar to that of UNESCO, conceded it may be a victim of US funding cuts.

"Of course we need it. The US funding is quite important, I guess for all the UN organizations," she said. "It's a vital funding need for WHO."

It is not the first time the US has threatened UNESCO. It quit the organization in 1984 during Ronald Reagan's presidency, an absence it maintained until 2003.

The Palestinian move triggered a long-standing congressional ban on US funding to UN bodies that recognize Palestine as a state before an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is reached.

US Senator Lindsey Graham said last week that pulling out of UN agencies would harm US interests, and could be "catastrophic" for the US-UN relationship.

Delaying dues payments for two years could threaten US membership within the UN body, as it may have no voting right at its annual general assembly, and will severely limit and reduce US influence in the organization, and ultimately affect US national interests, Zheng said, adding that being partial to Israel will further isolate the US from the Arab world.

"US President Barack Obama took a step forward on the Palestine issue during his early presidency, but he had to step back because of the strong influence of the pro-Israel lobby in Congress," Zheng added.

The increasing differences between the US and Europe are also noticeable. European countries' votes were 11 in favor, 11 abstaining, and five against Palestinian membership of UNESCO.

UNESCO's approach could serve as a model to upgrade the status of Palestine in other organizations, but it is still not easy to become a UN member as long as the US, a permanent member of the Security Council with a veto, firmly opposes this.