Beijing Blasts US Over ‘Flagrant Plunder’ of Syria’s Resources ‘in Broad Daylight’

US forces have occupied eastern Syria for over five years, taking part in the extraction of oil, gas and food supplies and their illegal export abroad. President Donald Trump openly boasted that the “only” reason he had troops in the country was to “keep the oil.” The Biden White House has been more reluctant to comment on its activities.

The United States is behaving like a “pirate” in Syria and openly plundering the Middle Eastern nation’s resources, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian has said.

“Unfortunately, the US government, rather than reflecting upon its war-related crimes and responsibilities, has flagrantly plundered Syria’s national resources, plunging the country into an unprecedented humanitarian disaster,” Zhao said in a press briefing Friday.

The spokesman cited United Nations World Food Programme figures indicating that nine in ten Syrians live below the poverty line, with two thirds requiring humanitarian assistance, and 55 percent suffering food insecurity.

“The Syrian people’s wealth is being plundered by the US in broad daylight. At the same time, US sanctions deprive the country of the opportunities for development. The Syrian people have decried the suffocating pirate-like behaviour and economic blockade of the US,” Zhao said.

Last year, Syrian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Bassam Tomeh estimated that the US and its allies control 90 percent of the country’s oil-producing capacity, and calculated that their activities have led to some $92 billion in damages to Syria’s oil sector. Tomeh similarly characterized the US as “pirates.”

The US military is reported to have a permanent contingent of about 900 troops in Syria at any one time, with these forces believed to be deployed near oil and gas fields and strategic transport arteries. Washington has been assisted in its plunder of Syrian energy and foodstuffs by the majority-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces militia, which has de facto self-governance over the areas it controls.

Last month, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad vowed that areas of Syria occupied by US forces would soon return to government control, and called on the SDF to recognize that Washington would eventually withdraw and abandon them.

The Biden administration has so far expressed no intention of withdrawing from Syria, with the US forces’ presence rarely mentioned in media briefings. The policy is a stark contrast to that under Donald Trump, who openly and repeatedly bragged that the “only” reason the US had troops in Syria was for the oil. Trump’s ‘saying the quiet part out loud’ sent shivers down the spines of other US officials and media, who expressed concerns that his remarks constituted an admission that the US was violating international laws against pillage.

Deprived of most of its oil and much of its food resources and facing crushing US and the European Union sanctions, Syria has relied on Iran and Russia for fuel and food aid as it rebuilds from the foreign-backed conflict thrust upon the country in 2011.