April 26, 2017
Teknaf- China has offered on Tuesday to tackle diplomatic tensions between Bangladesh and Myanmar over the Rohingya refugees, Bangladesh foreign ministry officials have told Reuters.
However China prefers that Bangladesh and Myanmar take steps to tackle the issue bilaterally.
The discussions took place amid a meeting with Bangladesh foreign secretary Shahidul Haque and Chinese special envoy Sun Guoxiang who is in Dhaka on a four day trip.
China has strong ties with both countries.
Rohingya activists have welcomed China’s interest in tackling the long standing problem of Rohingya persecution but have stressed that to reach a realistic solution, the international community, especially Malaysia and other ASEAN and Muslim powers sympathetic to the Rohingya cause should be present. They also expressed the desire for European participation. There is also the need for Rohingya representatives to be present at any talks, they stressed.
Meanwhile Bangladesh officials have also told local media off the record that it is impossible for the Rohingya crisis to be solved through bilateral talks with Myanmar as the latter maintains a hostile attitude towards their Muslim neighbour.
