China said yesterday that it would support further international efforts to promote dialogue between Myanmar's ruling junta and its opposition, but insisted it was fundamentally an internal matter.
The comments were Beijing's first reaction to the release on Thursday of a statement by the 15 members of the UN Security Council, which "strongly deplored" Myanmar's violent suppression of protests.
"The Myanmar issue should be fundamentally and properly resolved with the efforts of Myanmar's government and people themselves and through consultation," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao (劉建超) said in a statement released by Xinhua news agency.
"China is ready to continue to actively promote the proper settlement of the Myanmar issue together with the international community," Liu said.
The council statement urged the Myanmar government and all parties "to work together towards a de-escalation of the situation and a peaceful solution."
The statement also called on the junta to "create the necessary conditions, for a genuine dialogue" with Aung San Suu Kyi, "in order to achieve an inclusive national reconciliation with the direct support of the United Nations."
The Security Council's statement was watered down from its original draft to win the consent of China and Russia, which have previously vetoed resolutions.
The UN said its special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, would fly back to the region next week for consultations with key governments on efforts to promote talks between Myanmar's junta and the opposition.
Gambari will begin his consultations in Thailand on Monday and then travel to Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China and Japan, "with a view to returning to Myanmar shortly thereafter," UN deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said. She gave no date.
Meanwhile, Myanmar's national airline said yesterday it was halting most of its flights amid a dramatic downturn in visitors.
Myanmar Airways International has suspended flights to Thailand and Malaysia after its London-based insurer halted coverage "due to the recent crisis in Myanmar," the airline said.
Myanmar's junta has said 10 people have been killed and nearly 2,100 arrested, with 700 later released. Diplomats and dissidents say the death toll is likely much higher and up to 6,000 people have been seized.
At least a dozen freed prisoners described brutal treatment at detention centers, including one who said "dozens" of detainees had been killed, the Democratic Voice of Burma, a Norway-based short-wave radio station and Web site run by dissident journalists, said in a report on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Myanmar Prime Minister General Soe Win died yesterday in a military hospital after a long illness, relatives and state media said. He was 59.
The fourth-ranking member of the junta, he had been ailing for months with what relatives said was acute leukemia.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from