UN envoy says China is helpful in dealing with Burma crisis

"China is very helpful and we are going to continue to see China as an ally," Gambari told reporters after meeting with Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda in Jakarta.

Gambari said that one approach is to try "a combination of strong encouragement along with some incentives to say, that the world is not there just to punish Burma." 

Gambari, who has already met with the prime ministers of Thailand and Malaysia, was expected to meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during his visit, which is to last through Saturday.

Burma's military junta leader Senior General Than Shwe promised President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in a letter sent last week to continue cooperating with Gambari to find a peaceful solution to the country's problems, local media reported.

"I can't disclose details of the letter but General Than Shwe did highlight two points. First, he told President Yudhoyono that he would continue to work with Gambari, and second, he vowed to keep the roadmap to democracy on track," Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal was quoted as saying by The Jakarta Post.

Last month, Burma's military-run government shot and beat Buddhist monks and pro-democracy activists, killing at least 10 and arresting scores, after they had taken to the streets to protest the country's dire economic situation.

After a UN Security Council statement last week denouncing the junta's actions, the United States and European Union are trying to rally international consensus to force the junta to release political prisoners and open talks with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Gambari, who met separately with both junta leader General Than Shwe and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi during a visit to Burma at the end of September and in early October, has returned to Asia to hear the views of Burma's South-East Asian neighbours as well as regional powers China, India and Japan. He expected to visit Burma again before mid-November.

//dpa