China offers to help Bangladesh and Myanmar defuse Rohingya crisis

Chinese foreign minister says his country supports resolving the crisis peacefully and bilaterally

DHAKA: China is willing to help Bangladesh and Myanmar solve the Rohingya crisis, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said after meeting his Bangladeshi counterpart in Dhaka on Saturday.

More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh since late August driven out by a military clearance operation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State which the United Nations has said amounted to ethnic cleansing.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar has faced growing international anger over its treatment of the Rohingya – amid widespread reports of murders and rapes committed by the armed forces.

“China supports resolving the crisis peacefully, bilaterally with mutual consultation between Bangladesh and Myanmar,” Wang said at the Chinese embassy in Dhaka.

“It is a complex situation and needs a comprehensive solution. Economic development of Rakhine State is needed. China is ready to help.”

Dhaka hopes it will put pressure Myanmar into taking back hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Wang said China was of view that the Rohingya issue could only be solved by talks between Bangladesh and Myanmar.  Only then can an agreement be accepted by the parties concerned and be sustainable, Xinhua quoted him as saying.

“The international community should not complicate the situation,” Wang added.

“Actions in the United Nations Security Council must help Bangladesh-Myanmar bilateral cooperation to resolve the problem peacefully.”

Wang also met with Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence in Dhaka and assured her of China’s support in solving the crisis.

“Myanmar will have to take back their nationals ensuring their safety, security and dignity for a durable solution to the crisis,” Hasina’s private secretary Ihsanul Karim quoted the prime minister as saying.

“We will not allow the land of Bangladesh to be used by any terrorist group to commit any act of insurgency in neighboring countries,” Hasina added, according to Karim.

Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali told Wang that Bangladesh was trying to resolve the issue both bilaterally and internationally as it could not afford the huge burden of the refugees.

A statement from Bangladesh foreign ministry said that when the issue of displaced Myanmar nationals was raised, Wang stated that China would help resolve the issue and will not be partial to any side.

He acknowledged that Bangladesh is facing the brunt of continuing influx of Rohingya refugees, the Bangladeshi foreign ministry statement said.

A delegation of U.S. Congressmen is visiting Bangladesh to study the Rohingya crisis on Saturday.

Sweden’s foreign minister Margot Wallstrom, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Germany’s foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kona will also visit Bangladesh this week.