Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying’s Remarks
Q: State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had phone calls respectively with Haji Erywan, Second Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brunei, which is the rotating chair of ASEAN, and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi of Indonesia on February 19. Can you tell us more about it?
A: As Myanmar is a member of ASEAN, Brunei and Indonesia both pay close attention to the situation in Myanmar, with the former being ASEAN’s rotating chair, and the latter a major country in the region. State Councilor Wang Yi had phone conversations with the two foreign ministers at invitation. Brunei and Indonesia believe that a long-term solution to Myanmar’s internal affairs should be found by its people. Following the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, ASEAN will have constructive engagement with Myanmar to help it restore stability as early as possible. ASEAN is considering hosting a special meeting of foreign ministers to discuss this matter. ASEAN hopes to stay in touch with China on Myanmar’s situation as China is the biggest neighbor to Myanmar and ASEAN as a whole, and it hopes China will support ASEAN in hosting the special meeting for foreign ministers.
State Councilor Wang Yi stated China’s position. He said, Myanmar is China’s friendly neighbor and a member of the ASEAN family. China and ASEAN care about Myanmar’s situation and hope the country can restore and keep peace and stability more than any other country. Continuous turbulence in Myanmar doesn’t serve the interests of Myanmar and its people, or the collective interests of regional countries. We hope all parties in Myanmar can take into account the fundamental and long-term interests of the nation, peacefully address the problems under the constitutional and legal framework, and continue orderly advancing the domestic process of democratic transformation. State Councilor Wang Yi stressed that China supports ASEAN in championing the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and consensus building, playing an active role in the ASEAN Way, and having engagement and communication with Myanmar as early as possible. China supports ASEAN in holding a special meeting of foreign ministers and believes ASEAN, as a mature regional organization, can help Myanmar tide over difficulties with its political wisdom. China is ready to stay in close coordination with Brunei, Indonesia and other ASEAN nations and play a constructive role in de-escalating tensions in Myanmar.