China will not protect those behind ship sinking: Wen

By Jung Sung-ki

Staff reporter

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Friday that Beijing will not protect anyone found responsible for the sinking of the South Korean Navy frigate Cheonan on March 26, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

In talks with President Lee Myung-bak at the presidential office, Wen said China will decide its position on the issue in an objective and fair manner, while reviewing an international investigation and the reactions from other countries, Lee Dong-kwan, senior presidential secretary for public relations, said.

“The Chinese government will seriously review the results of the international probe and from countries concerned, and in accordance with the outcome, China will not protect anyone,” Wen was quoted as telling Lee.

Wen said China has made efforts for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and opposes and censures any kind of acts that can destroy this.

President Lee called for China’s active role in addressing the Cheonan incident which claimed the lives of 46 sailors, the secretary said.

“The President stressed that we have to employ a new method to lead North Korea to another path. He asked that China play an active role in making Pyongyang admit its wrongdoing,” the aide said.

If Pyongyang goes unpunished again, it will think it can get away with anything whenever it does something wrong, the President said.

The Lee-Wen meeting came as South Korea and its allies have blamed North Korea for the sinking of the 1,200-ton warship near the inter-Korean sea border.

China, the closest ally of North Korea and a veto-wielding permanent member of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC), has remained cautious about joining South Korea, the United States and Japan in censuring the North.

Quoting senior American officials, the Associated Press reported Thursday that China has signaled it could soon join the U.S. and its allies in blaming North Korea for the sinking.

President Lee and Premier Wen will fly to Jeju Island today for three-way talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. The summit is also expected to be dominated by the naval disaster.

During the two-hour Cheong Wa Dae talks, Wen also pledged efforts to further develop a “strategic partnership” with South Korea.

“South Korea and China have cooperated well in dealing with international issues. We will further develop our strategic partnership in the future,” he said in an opening speech.

The two leaders agreed to set up a consular office in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian. China will open a consular office on South Korea's Jeju Island.

After the meeting, the two leaders signed a memorandum of understanding on efforts to sign a free trade agreement between the two countries.

'중국, 누구도 비호 않겠다'

원자바오 중국 총리는 천안함을 침몰시킨 세력을 비호하지 않을 것이라고 강조했다.

원 총리는 청와대에서 열린 이명박 대통령과의 회담에서 이같이 언급하며 천안함 조사 결과와 다른 국가들의 반응을 존중하는 한편 천안함 문제를 객관적이고 공정하게 검토한 후 공식 입장을 정리할 것이라고 말했다.

중국은 그 동안 북한을 비난하는데 동참하기를 거부해왔다. 하지만, 일부 시각에선 벽을 허물고 강대국에 걸 맞는 역할을 주문하는 목소리가 커지는 상황에서 중국은 결국 우리 정부의 입장에 가까워질 것이란 전망이다.

원 자바오 총리는 개막연설에서 "한국과 중국은 국제적인 이슈들을 해결하는데 협조해왔다" 며 "우리는 계속해서 전략적 협력관계를 발전시키겠다"고 말했다.