China backs Sri Lanka on human rights issue

Ahead of next month's US-sponsored resolution at the UNHRC against Sri Lanka, China today said it was opposed to any international interference in that country over alleged rights abuses during the war against LTTE rebels.
"China opposes some countries' interference in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka under the pretext of human rights issues," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during talks with his visiting Sri Lankan counterpart G L Peiris.
The comment is significant in the backdrop of Sri Lanka's stepped up efforts to counter US plans to move the resolution on alleged war crimes at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

China backs Sri Lanka in safeguarding its national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, Wang was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua news agency. "We believe in the Sri Lankan people's wisdom and capacity to handle their own affairs," he said.
Peiris' visit coincides with the recent announcement by the US that it will sponsor a third resolution in March at the UNHRC.
The resolution will build on two others passed in 2012 and 2013. The previous resolutions, backed by India, sought commitments from Sri Lanka on reconciliation and rights accountability.

Sri Lanka fears that the new resolution may call for an independent international probe into alleged war crimes during the final phase of the military battle with the LTTE in 2009.

Peiris has already visited India and sought its support.
China, which has emerged as a strategic ally of Sri Lanka in recent years by investing billions of dollars in the country's infrastructure, voted against the US move last year while India backed it.
Wang also hailed the stable growth of China-Sri Lanka ties as a model for friendly co-existence and win-win relations between states, saying the relationship has entered its best period in history.