China should get more involved in the Middle East

[PurplePuppy]

China should get more involved in the Middle East

Editorial
2014-06-17

Iraq has suffered over a decade of conflict and now stands on the brink of fresh disaster with Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) occupying several major cities, with the jihadist group claiming to have massacred hundreds of captive Shiite members of Iraq's security forces. As a result, the Nouri al-Maliki Shia-led government backed by the United States is at stake.

The withdrawal of American military forces from Iraq in 2011 and the rise of the democratic revolutions in Egypt and Yemen, as well as the Syrian civil war have catalyzed the formation of an alliance among active Sunni militant groups in Iraq, al-Qaida and the National Salvation Front in Syria.

After Sunni insurgents took over Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, at the beginning of this year, Iraqi government forces have experienced several setbacks, hindering the United States in its anti-terrorism war.

Even though US President Barack Obama kept his promise to withdraw troops from Iraq, the United States failed — how could it succeed? — to resolve the conflict between the different branches of Islam. However, the Iraq crisis is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the worsening situation in the Middle East.

Now Obama is talking about sending troops back in. To avoid making the same mistakes after previous military interventions, the president has only offered a selective and limited response to the internal conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya and Syria so far.

Beijing has condemned the latest terrorist attacks on civilians in Mosul in northern Iraq, while continuing to insist on non-intervention as its diplomatic policy. It has thus limited its response to only expressing its concern over the security situation in Iraq and extended support for the al-Maliki government's efforts in maintaining internal security.

China's concern with the regional conflict has been based on protecting its economic and political interests. As it progresses towards becoming the world's largest economy, China may need to proactively make efforts aimed at maintaining global and regional peace.

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