China has sought to take a lead in mediating between Bangladesh and Myanmar on the Rohingya crisis, with Beijing announcing a new “three-stage proposal” as its foreign minister visited the two countries.
The foreign ministry in Beijing said on Monday that both countries had “approved” the proposal.Foreign minister Wang Yi outlined the three-phase plan after arriving in Myanmar on Sunday following a visit to Bangladesh. The first stage involved an on-the-ground ceasefire to allow Rohingya people to return and to stop them fleeing across the border.
The second stage, he said, was to encourage and support Bangladesh and Myanmar to strengthen exchanges and to find a solution “on the basis of equality”, while the third step was for the international community to help develop Rakhine state.
Asked if the second stage suggestion meant China was now ready to mediate between the two countries, foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang didn’t say whether China would or wouldn’t, but that Beijing “upholds mutual respect and non-interference in international affairs in developing relations with countries.”Lu said both countries had backed China’s proposal. “This initiative was approved in Bangladesh and also won approval in Myanmar,” he said. “We hope the proposal will help resolve the current crisis.
“The proposal underlines China’s increasing willingness to step in and play a role in regional hotspot issues, in a break from its generally cautious diplomacy over the past decade.
Beijing has recently also pushed a “freeze for freeze” plan to push negotiations on the North Korean nuclear crisis, involving a suspension of both US-South Korean military exercises if North Korea froze its missile programme.
That proposal, however, hasn’t made much headway.China has close ties with both Bangladesh and Myanmar, emerging as a major investor in both countries and backing billions of dollars of infrastructure projects in the two nations.
