China has endorsed Myanmar's offensive against Rohingya Muslim insurgents, though the U.N. secretary-general said the operation, which has forced nearly 400,000 people to flee to Bangladesh, was best described as "ethnic cleansing."

The Myanmar military offensive in the western state of Rakhine was triggered by a series of guerrilla attacks on Aug. 25 on security posts and an army camp in which about a dozen people were killed.

"The stance of China regarding the terrorist attacks in Rakhine is clear, it is just an internal affair," the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Thursday quoted China's ambassador, Hong Liang, telling top government officials.