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JR/MMA 19 November, 2008 09:58:00

Military World

China has strongly rejected a recent suggestion by British Premier Gordon Brown that Beijing could send its troops to Afghanistan.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement on Monday that China never sends its troops abroad unless they are part of the United Nation’s peacekeeping operations, which are approved by the UN Security Council.

Qin also added that media reports about China sending troops to participate in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan were groundless.

The Chinese foreign ministry’s denial comes after the British prime minister suggested that China could contribute to ISAF in Afghanistan.

Brown had told New York’s Council on Foreign Relations on Friday of China’s possible plans for deploying troops to the violence-wracked country. Brown said he expected more nations, not currently involved in fighting, to join the Afghan mission.

China, which maintains close trade ties with Western countries, has frequently criticized the US and its European allies over their military campaign in Afghanistan.

Western forces now reaching 70,000 have failed to secure Afghanistan and crush the Taliban-lead insurgency. US, British and NATO forces are now experiencing some of the most violent attacks since the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. Over 250 foreign soldiers and more than 5,000 Afghans have been killed so far this year.