China will not defend ship attacker

China told South Korea it will not defend whoever it determines was responsible for the sinking of a South Korean warship that killed 46 sailors, the South Korean government said.

SEOUL // China told South Korea yesterday it will not defend whoever it determines was responsible for the sinking of a South Korean warship that killed 46 sailors, the South Korean government said. Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, made the comments after meeting Lee Myung-bak, the South Korean president amid tensions on the Korean peninsula following the March 26 torpedo attack near the disputed North-South sea border.

South Korea, the United States and Japan have condemned North Korea after a multinational investigation blamed Pyongyang for the attack. China, however, took a cautious position. Beijing will decide its stance after considering international probes and the reactions of all countries, Mr Wen told Mr Lee, according to a briefing by presidential adviser Lee Dong-kwan. "China will defend no one" whatever the outcome, Mr Wen said, according to Mr Lee.

China's backing would be key to any bid to condemn or sanction North Korea. Beijing, a veto-wielding permanent UN Security Council member, so far has refrained from committing to council action against Pyongyang, its neighbour and traditional ally. Mr Wen's comments could not be independently confirmed. China's official Xinhua News Agency made no mention of a pledge not to defend those responsible in its report on the meeting.

However, Xinhua did quote Mr Wen as saying China would make a judgment on the cause of the incident in an "objective and fair manner" and "take its stance on the basis of facts concerning the sinking of a South Korean warship". China "always opposes and condemns any acts detrimental to peace and stability on the peninsula," it quoted him as saying, adding that Beijing "takes serious note of the results of a joint investigation by South Korea and other countries, as well as the reactions of all parties."

Mr Wen's remarks appear to show China is sensitive to South Korean anger over the incident and rising criticism of Beijing's reluctance to endorse the investigation results or criticise Pyongyang. Mr Wen and Mr Lee met at the the South Korean president's official residence a day before a three-way summit that will also include Yukio Hatoyama, the Japanese prime minister. Mr Lee's spokesman Park Sun-kyu said South Korea was "fully concentrating on diplomatic efforts to hold North Korea responsible".

A multinational investigation concluded last week that a North Korean submarine fired a torpedo that tore apart and sank the Cheonan in the worst attack on the South Korean military since the Korean War. North Korea has denied responsibility for the attack, and has warned that retaliation or punishment would mean war. Tensions have soared since Mr Lee laid out a series of punitive measures and pledged to haul Pyongyang before the UN Security Council. The steps include slashing trade with Pyongyang, resuming anti-North Korean propaganda broadcasts across the border and launching large-scale naval exercises off the western coast. US-South Korean military drills are to follow in the coming months.

North Korea has carried out a series of attacks on the South since the Korean War ended in a truce in 1953. South Korea has never retaliated militarily. Separately, the Russian foreign ministry spokesman Igor Lyakin-Frolov said that Moscow wants to know with full certitude who is responsible before making further decisions. He said a group of Russian experts was heading to Seoul to study the relevant information.

* Associated Press