With international outrage over the downing
of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 increasingly directed at Russia, China finds
itself having to tread a fine line.
While
Beijing has so far refrained from assigning blame to its close ally Moscow,
which backs separatist rebels believed to have shot down the plane over eastern
Ukraine, it has to ensure its restraint does not make it appear callous,
especially when 298 lives were lost.
The
sense of loss is one that the Chinese people share. In March, MAS flight MH370
with 239 people on board, 153 of them Chinese nationals, disappeared en route
from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Since
last Thursday's air disaster, China's top leadership has said little beyond
calling for an objective investigation into what happened.
Foreign
minister Wang Yi, who is travelling with President Xi Jinping in Latin America,
has urged all parties concerned to "refrain from making conjectures and prejudgment
and, more importantly, avoid politicising the issue" before any probe is
completed, Xinhua news agency reported.
"The
crash further suggests that an early settlement of the Ukraine crisis is the
fundamental way to maintain regional peace and stability," Wang said.
On
Monday, editorials in China's state media said that Western nations were
politicising the tragedy and turning it into a geopolitical tussle with Russia,
and cautioned against jumping to conclusions.
Official
media too have opted for neutral language, preferring to use
"crashed" and "non-government militia" instead of
"shot down" and "pro-Russian rebels".
"China
must be careful and rational in its response as it has nothing to gain from
stepping into the international fray," said Sino-Russian expert Yang Cheng
of East China Normal University.
"But
if international investigations conclude that Russia is partly at fault, then
Chinese leaders cannot remain neutral as it will affect their international
standing," he added.
China
Foreign Affairs University analyst Zhou Yongsheng said that if Russia is found
to have armed the rebels with the anti-aircraft missile that took down MH17,
then "it would be a regretful situation for China".
Sino-Russian
ties are at an all-time high, thanks in part to the good relationship between
their presidents.
A
US$400 billion gas deal in May also pushed economic cooperation to
unprecedented levels.
Also,
in March, China abstained from a UN Security Council resolution declaring a
referendum on Crimean secession as illegal - a show of support that Putin
publicly thanked Beijing for.
Analysts
say that given the Chinese people's sympathy for MH17 victims and their
families, Beijing would be hard pressed to consider a similar abstention if
incontrovertible evidence of Russia's complicity in the tragedy should emerge.
"It
is a relief there were no Chinese passengers on MH17," said Professor
Zhou. "Otherwise the Chinese government's attitude towards Russia would
have to change entirely."
Rachel
Chang
Business & Investment Opportunities
Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd (SBC) is incorporated
in Singapore since 1994.
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