Prefers dialogue to confrontation :

China urges restraint in Korea crisis

CHINA: China Tuesday urged all parties involved in the crisis sparked by the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship to exercise restraint, saying dialogue was preferable to confrontation.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu also said that peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in the region was in the interest of all parties, and that China would not tolerate any actions that would disturb the peace.

“We sincerely hope that all parties concerned stay calm and exercise restraint to properly handle relevant issues in order to avoid an escalation of the situation,” Jiang told reporters.

“We believe dialogue is better than confrontation.”

The comments came as senior Chinese envoy Wu Dawei visited Seoul for talks with Foreign Minister Yu Myung-Hwan, who is mounting an intensive diplomatic drive to secure international support in the crisis.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was also pressing Seoul’s case with Chinese officials in Beijing, during two days of high-level Sino-US meetings.

Last week, a multinational panel of investigators announced that a torpedo from a North Korean submarine was to blame for the March 26 sinking of the South Korean naval corvette Cheonan, which left 46 sailors dead.

Seoul has cut off trade with the North and pledged to take the matter before the UN Security Council, where the support of China, a veto-wielding member, will be crucial for any punitive action targeting Pyongyang.

Beijing has so far refused to join in an international chorus of outrage over the incident.

The United States, Japan, Britain and Australia have all strongly condemned the North, which has denied all involvement.

“Upholding the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and northeast Asia is in the interest of all parties and is also our shared responsibility,” said Jiang, the Chinese spokeswoman.

“China is firmly against any behaviour that is contradictory to the above principle.” Beijing, Tuesday, AFP