China backs Asean meeting to mediate in Myanmar crisis
- Beijing tells Southeast Asian foreign ministers that it supports the bloc’s intervention but does not want outsiders ‘meddling’ in Myanmar’s internal affairs
- China has also stepped up patrols along the border following a Covid-19 outbreak in the city of Ruili
The question of how the Association of Southeast Asian nations should handle the crisis has been one of the main topics of discussion this week in meetings between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and four of his Asean counterparts in Fujian province.
Wang said after his meeting with Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein on Thursday that China supports Asean’s efforts at mediation but insisted that the international community should not “meddle in Myanmar’s internal affairs.” Wang made a similar call in his meeting with Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Wednesday.
“The Chinese side supports Asean’s efforts to mediate through the ‘Asean approach’ and to hold a special meeting among Asean leaders as soon as possible,” Wang said on Thursday.
He continued that China hopes that “different forces in Myanmar can start a dialogue as soon as possible based on the long-term interests of their country, to solve divergence under the framework of the law and the constitution and promote hard-won democratisation”.
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“We all believe the international community should create a favourable environment for Myanmar’s internal politics based on the principle of noninterference, rather than meddling and intervening in Myanmar’s internal affairs, or arbitrarily imposing pressure,” he said.