Warning being used to ‘justify presence’

The US, France and Britain threatened to respond strongly if the Syrian government uses chemical weapons to retake Idlib province, a move a Chinese expert believes is to legitimize their military presence in the war-torn country.

US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser said on Wednesday that his country would respond “very strongly” if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad uses chemical weapons in a military operation in Idlib.

In a joint statement issued late on Tuesday, the United States, France and Britain threatened to respond if “Syrian President Bashar al-Assad uses chemical weapons in its offensive to retake Idlib province”.

Wang Jin, a Syrian Studies researcher for Northwestern University and Chahar Institute, said the joint statement shows that the US and its allies are acting to justify their interference and military presence in Syria, which may not be helpful to the constructive resolution of the conflict in the country.

The Syria government has long claimed that the US allegations about the government using chemical weapons in the war are “lies”. The Syrian Arab News Agency said the rebels and their overseas backers were fabricating events to attract foreign military action.

Wang said the three countries’ accusations and statement were designed to justify their interference and military presence in Syria.

Wang said that while the US and its allies alleged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s military was behind the attack, there is no substantial evidence so far to support the suspicion. He said currently it is still doubtful whether chemical weapons were used and who used them.

‘Gravely concerned’

It is universally acknowledged that any use of chemical weapons should be stopped and punished, but it is equally important to make sure that the punitive response is built on sufficient credible and verifiable evidence, Wang said, adding that the “targeted strikes” on Syria by the three countries this year did not help to end the eight-year-long Syrian conflict and stop inflicting tremendous suffering on the Syrian people.

The three countries said they were “gravely concerned” over the military offensive in Idlib and the resulting humanitarian consequences in the statement.

“We also underline our concern at the potential for further — and illegal — use of chemical weapons,” they said.

“As we have demonstrated, we will respond appropriately to any further use of chemical weapons by Syrian, which has had such devastating humanitarian consequences for the Syrian population”, said the trio.

The three UN Security Council countries released the joint statement with an aim of marking the fifth anniversary of an alleged gas attack in Ghouta that happened in Aug 21, 2013.

In April, the US, France and Britain launched airstrikes on Syrian targets. AFP contributed to this story.