China slammed on Friday the US illegal military presence in Syria, which has led to mass civilian casualties and a severe humanitarian crisis.

Mao Ning, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, called on the United States to lift “illegal unilateral sanctions” against the Arab country.

“The United States has illegally intervened in military activities related to the Syrian crisis, which has led to the death of a large number of innocent civilians and a serious humanitarian disaster,” she said on Friday.

“We call on the United States to sincerely respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of other countries, and to immediately stop its illegal military presence and marauding in Syria,” Mao added.

US in favor of maintaining military presence

Last Thursday, the US House of Representatives voted down legislation on Wednesday, instructing US President Joe Biden to end the US occupation of the Syrian Al-Tanaf region and remove approximately 900 troops.

The resolution, initially introduced by the Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, was supported by only 103 members of Congress, as the majority of members of Congress, amounting to 321, have voted against the pull-out.

Read more: Even after devastating earthquake, US loots new batch of Syrian oil

Gaetz argued that “Syria is my lead-off hitter. We’re going to take a trip around the globe. We may go to Yemen, we may have stops in Niger, we may have stops in Sudan, maybe ultimately, we’ll end in Ukraine."

In contrast, Texas Representative Michael McCaul and the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs falsely claimed that the “withdrawal of this legal, authorized US troop deployment must be based on the total defeat of ISIS.”

“This measure forces a premature end to our mission at a critical time for our efforts,” said New York Democrat Representative, Gregory Meeks, who opposed the bill.

Read more: Syria disaster exposed US true face; major threat to world peace: IOL

Not a first

This is not the first time that Beijing bashed Washington's illegal presence in Syria and plundering of its resources.

Earlier in January, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Syria's energy crisis and humanitarian disaster are a result of American theft and larceny.

Wang expressed that illegal robberies in Syria have become overtly excessive. 80% of Syria's daily oil production, he added, has been raided by the US troops just since the beginning of this year and 60 tankers and trucks of Syrian oil and wheat have been ravaged. 

He also highlighted the US greed in looting Syrian resources, underlining the irony of their 'generosity' in shipping billions of military aid to foreign lands to finance wars - a jab at their involvement in wars around the globe. 

In December 2022, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, opened fire on the US illegal military presence in Syria, shedding light on the continuous US looting of Syrian oil and grain and its missile attacks on the country.

“The US’s stationing of troops in Syria is illegal. The US’s smuggling of oil and grain from Syria is illegal. The US’s missile attack against Syria is also illegal," he said then.

The Chinese diplomat also highlighted then the financial losses of the continuous US looting and smuggling of Syrian oil, saying, “According to the official data from the Syrian government, between 2011 and the first half of 2022, the US’s smuggling activities have cost Syria more than $100 billion of losses.”

“When the US talks about ‘rules’, it is often just trying to find a pretext for serving its own interest and perpetuating its hegemony,” he stressed.