China says Myanmar, B’desh back Rohingya crisis plan

BEIJING: China said Monday that Myanmar and Bangladesh have backed its plan to resolve a crisis that has caused more than 600,000 Rohingya refugees to flee from Myanmar into Bangladesh.
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi presented a “three-phase solution” during visits to Bangladesh last week and Myanmar this weekend.Deadly attacks by Rohingya militants on August 25 sparked a massive backlash from Myanmar’s security forces that the UN says may amount to “ethnic cleansing”. Beijing, which supported the military junta that ruled Myanmar for decades, has backed the country’s current government during the crisis. The Chinese plan starts with a ceasefire in Myanmar’s Rakhine state “so that local residents can no longer be displaced”.
EU’s top diplomat ‘encouraged’ by Rohingya talks with Suu Kyi: The EU’s foreign policy chief on Monday hailed “extremely encouraging” talks with Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi on the Rohingya crisis, welcoming steps towards the repatriation of Muslims driven into Bangladesh.
Federica Mogherini joined a stream of diplomats to meet Suu Kyi in recent days as efforts intensify to resolve a crisis that has pushed 620,000 members of the Muslim minority into Bangladesh.
China has made a “three-phrase” proposal to resolve the crisis — involving a ceasefire, refugee repatriation and poverty alleviation — with a Beijing foreign ministry spokesman on Monday saying its plan had won approval of leaders in both Bangladesh and Myanmar. China has pumped billions of dollars into both countries as it widens its regional infrastructure and trade networks.