China urges world to respect Myanmar's sovereignty

China said on Wednesday the world should respect Myanmar's judicial sovereignty after sending Aung San Suu Kyi back into detention, a ruling that triggered Western outrage but only a measured response from its neighbors.

China, one of the few nations that stands by Myanmar's military junta, called for continued dialogue but urged non-interference from the outside world, suggesting Beijing would not back any United Nations action against the country.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, was sentenced to three years for violating an internal security law, but the junta said immediately after Tuesday's verdict it would halve the sentence and allow her to serve the time at her Yangon home.

The verdict drew sharp criticism from leaders around the world. Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown called it "monstrous." French President Nicolas Sarkozy said it was "brutal and unjust", and the European Union said it was preparing sanctions against the regime.

Western nations pressed the U.N. Security Council to adopt a statement condemning the sentence, but other countries, including veto-wielding members Russia and China, stalled for time.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said dialogue, rather than criticism, would help steer Myanmar toward a path of democracy, development and national reconciliation.

"This not only accords with Myanmar's interests, it is also beneficial to regional stability," she said in a statement, China's first official comment following the sentencing.

"International society should fully respect Myanmar's judicial sovereignty," Jiang said, referring to Suu Kyi's case.

Analysts said Suu Kyi's reduced sentence may have been an attempt to appease Myanmar's friends and neighbors -- China, India and Thailand, in particular -- whose trade has propped up a state crippled by international sanctions.

"Most Asian states will be prepared to go along with that," said Ian Holliday, a Myanmar specialist at the University of Hong Kong.

ASEAN "DISAPPOINTED"

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member, on Wednesday expressed "deep disappointment" about Suu Kyi's detention, following similar statements by member countries that stopped short of criticizing the regime.

ASEAN maintains a policy of quiet diplomacy and non-interference in the internal affairs of its members, but the junta's refusal to improve its human rights record has been the main source of tension within the 10-member bloc.

Critics have dismissed the trial as a ploy by the junta to keep the charismatic National League for Democracy (NLD) leader away from next year's multi-party elections, the first since 1990, when the NLD's landslide win was ignored by the generals.

The charges stemmed from a bizarre incident in which an American John Yettaw swam to her lakeside home in May and stayed there uninvited for two days.

That breached the terms of her house arrest and broke a now-obsolete security law protecting the state from "subversive elements."

Yettaw was sentenced to seven years' hard Labour in a parallel trial on three charges, including immigration offences and "swimming in a non-swimming area."

He told the court in May that God had sent him to warn Suu Kyi she would be assassinated by "terrorists."

Myanmar's military, which has ruled the country with an iron fist for almost five decades, has consistently shown it is impervious to international criticism and reluctant to engage with the West.

The generals insist next year's elections will be free and fair and will pave the way for a civilian government free of army control. However, few doubt their sincerity and critics dismiss the polls as an attempt to legitimize army rule.

Debbie Stothard from the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma said the reduced sentence and repeated delays in the Suu Kyi trial showed the junta feared isolation and had been affected by international opinion.

"What we saw was the regime delaying the process and reorganizing itself," she told Reuters. "This is clear evidence the regime is sensitive to international pressure and a sign the world has to keep pushing it."