China on Tuesday (Aug 28) said that putting pressure is not helpful in resolving the Rohingya issue of Myanmar after United Nations investigators said Myanmar's military had carried out mass killings of members of the minority.

A UN report issued on Monday (August 27) marked the first time the United Nations had explicitly called for Myanmar officials to face genocide charges over their campaign against the Rohingya, and is likely to deepen Myanmar isolation.

The investigators called for the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Myanmar, subject its officials to targeted sanctions, and set up an ad hoc tribunal to try suspects or refer them to the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

But China has close relations with Myanmar, and has backed what Myanmar officials call a legitimate counter-insurgency operation in the western state of Rakhine. Beijing has helped to block a resolution on the crisis at the UN Security Council in the past.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, when asked about the report, told a regular news briefing that the historical, religious and ethnic background of the Rakhine issue was "extremely complex".

"I think that unilateral criticism or exerting pressure is actually not helpful to resolving the problem," Hua said.

A year ago, Myanmar government troops led a crackdown in Rakhine State in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents on 30 police posts and a military base.

Some 700,000 Rohingya fled the crackdown and most are now living in refugee camps in neighbouring Bangladesh.

Source: Channel News Asia

BDST: 1830 HRS, AUG 28, 2018
AP