WORLD : Beijing Won’t Back Khmer Rouge
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JAKARTA, Indonesia — Chinese Premier Li Peng said today that Beijing will never support the Khmer Rouge as the dominant power in Cambodia and ruled out a battlefield solution to the 11-year-old conflict.
Li, the first Chinese premier to visit Indonesia in 25 years, made the remarks after China and Indonesia formally resumed diplomatic relations in a ceremony at Merdeka Palace, ending a 23-year freeze.
Although China arms the Khmer Rouge, the most powerful of the three resistance factions fighting the Hanoi-backed government in Cambodia, Li said, “China will never support the Khmer Rouge to dominate power.”
Li said China will stop arming the Khmer Rouge “if other countries stop their military assistance.”
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