China supports Syrian people's freedom to choose leadership and opposes outside intervention to force regime change

China and Russia have come under fire again for vetoing a United Nations Security Council resolution, brokered by the West, on July 19 that would have paved the way for imposing sanctions on Syria.

As usual, the Western media have held China and Russia accountable for the escalating conflict in Syria. Susan Rice, US permanent representative to the UN, has criticized China and Russia, saying that "history will judge those that three times have blocked (Security) Council action quite harshly".

Despite the West's attempt to blame China and Russia, people can tell which countries are actually on the right side of history, act responsibly and truly care for the Syrian people.

As a responsible country, China has been consistent in its position and will never seek to fulfill its own interests on the Syrian issue by supporting or opposing anyone. Instead, China upholds justice and remains committed to maintaining peace and stability in Syria and the Middle East by adhering to the principles governing international relations.

Above all, China adheres to the principle of noninterference in the internal affairs of Syria and opposes any foreign intervention in the meanwhile. Sovereign equality is a principle enshrined in the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, which is widely recognized as the foundation of modern international relations and also serves as the founding principle of the UN. Maintenance of international order and world peace and stability, to a great extent, depends on whether we stick to this principle.

Just as former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger wrote in an article earlier this year, intervention in the Syrian issue risks upsetting the global order. Noninterference in another country's internal affairs is an iron principle that should be abided by all nations to maintain global order.

Besides, China respects the independent choice of the Syrian people and opposes any outside attempt to forcibly promote regime change in Syria. A country's leadership should be decided by its own people, not by any outsider. There is no legitimate reason for any country or group of countries to decide the leadership of another country.

For a recent example we have to look at Greece. Although the Greek turmoil worsened and threatened to touch off a domino effect across Europe, European Union leaders could not force leadership change in Greece. It was the Greek people who decided the country's fate through the ballot. Likewise, the fate of Syria is in the hands of its people, and China will respect any decision that is reached within that country and is supported by the Syrian people.

Moreover, China has always stressed that the Syrian issue should be resolved through political means and strongly opposes any military intervention. The Syrian crisis can only be resolved politically, not under outside military intervention.

Over the past decade, the US-led Western world has been preaching the notion of "human rights above sovereignty". The US launched wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and engineered a war to overthrow Muammar Gadhafi in Libya. In reality, what the US-led defense forces brought to these countries were deaths, destitution and humanitarian crises. The truth is, by emphasizing self-proclaimed efforts to promote democracy and protect human rights, the West is trying to eliminate dissenting voices and fulfill its geopolitical interests.

The West is now resorting to the "Libyan model" to intervene in Syria and seek the UN Security Council's authorization for military intervention. It's for this reason that the US and its Western allies keep demonizing the Syrian government and supporting the Syrian opposition. Actually, the US and its allies should be held responsible for the prolonged unrest in Syria.

The good news is that the UN Security Council has passed a rollover resolution that gives the UN Supervision Mission in Syria a final 30-day extension, which indicates that the Security Council is back on the "right track" of supporting UN-Arab League joint envoy Kofi Annan's mediation efforts in Syria and settling the Syrian crisis through political means.

The Syrian situation has entered a critical phase and the international community should urge all parties to give up violence to facilitate the establishment of long-term peace and stability in Syria and the Middle East.

The author is an international affairs analyst based in Beijing.

(China Daily 07/26/2012 page8)