China on Monday said it had proposed a three-phase solution to resolve the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, state-run daily Global Times reported. In a joint press conference with Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the Rohingya issue can be addressed with a solution acceptable to both Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Wang called for consultations between the two countries to bring about such a solution. He said that the first phase of the solution would be a ceasefire in Rakhine state, to ensure that no “local residents” are displaced. The ceasefire is already in place.
The second phase of the solution would be communication between Bangladesh and Myanmar in an effort to find a feasible solution to the problem in Rakhine state, Wang said. The third phase would be poverty alleviation efforts in Rakhine state, which Wang described as the cause of “turbulence and conflict”. The Chinese foreign minister said the international community must support poverty eradication and development efforts in the troubled region.
Wang claimed that both Bangladesh and Myanmar had accepted China’s three-phase proposal.
Suu Kyi on Monday claimed that illegal immigration was partly responsible for instability and conflicts in many parts of the world. Although she did not directly mention the exodus of the Rohingya Muslims from the country, she said illegal immigration leads to “terrorism and violent extremism, social disharmony and even the threat of nuclear war”.
Last week, the Human Rights Watch said security forces in Myanmar had committed “widespread rape” of women and girls during the persecution and “ethnic cleansing” of Rohingya Muslims since August. Over 6,00,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh.
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