On April 15, 2021, one of the US military bases located north of the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor was covered with an “unknown” missile attack, ie not yet. Which armed group assumes responsibility.

As a result of the missile raid, several US servicemen were injured and taken very quickly to a nearby hospital. This was announced by Aletejah TV from Iraq after consulting local sources.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Mehr news agency made it clear that the missile attack was carried out “against the US headquarters, which is responsible for exporting oil obtained from the Syrian territory”.

At the same time over the past few months, a number of similar attacks have been carried out against various targets of the US military in eastern and northeastern Syria, causing some minor damage.

Meanwhile, the Syrian opposition online publication Enab Baladi claimed that the missile strike hit the base of the “Syrian Democratic Forces” (SDF) consisting of directly supported Kurdish fighters. by Washington.

The detail to note is that none of the media has indicated the specific coordinates of the US military base that suffered the attack, nor the location where the missiles were launched.

Since 2015, Washington has controlled nine military bases in northeastern Syria, close to hydrocarbon mines, four of which are in Deir ez-Zor province and 5 in Al-Hasakah province. Furthermore, at all of these facilities, besides the Americans, there were Kurds.

Analysts say the latest attack could be carried out by the remnants of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization or by pro-Iran militias fighting on the Damascus side.

Besides, it is not possible to rule out the raid involving the Syrian government army, when Damascus always affirms that it will regain its sovereignty over the entire resource-rich Northeast region.

On April 14, Syrian government sources said several IS jihadists attacked the SDF prison in Al-Hasakah city, where IS prisoners are being held. The results of this clash have not been released.

It should be noted that since September 2020, the US has increased its military facilities in Syria, regularly dispatching reinforcements to its bases from Iraq and in the opposite direction, escorting the oil caravan.

Oil sourced from northeastern Syria is of great importance to the United States, because it helps Washington pay for the expenses of the Syrian battlefield and partly to support the Kurdish forces. contradiction.

On the side of the Damascus government, they always asserted that the US action was to take resources and seriously violate the sovereignty of an independent country.

Currently, the Syrian government army only controls more than 60% of the territory, while the Northwest is actually under Turkish control, while the northeastern part is rich in resources occupied by the US.

IS weak, America benefits

The US has just moved 60 more IS terrorists to an oil field in Syria. Illustration

The Syrian Arab news agency SANA on April 14 reported that US helicopters had transported dozens of ISIS terrorists from prisons controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Hasaka province to the mine. al-Omar oil in the countryside east of Deir Ezzor.

According to SANA, 60 IS terrorists were transported on two US helicopters.

Before being sent to the al-Omar oil field, the terrorists were said to have been trained by US forces to join the ranks of the so-called “Tribal Army” led by the Kurdish commander, al-Khabil. leader.

Earlier, on March 31, US helicopters were believed to have transported 40 IS terrorists from al-Houl prison, east of Hasaka city to their base in al-Shadadi city. , south of rural Hasaka, SANA reported.

The handover took place amid a major security campaign underway at al-Hol camp. The campaign involved thousands of soldiers from the SDF, a force backed by the US; Asayish security forces and the Women’s Protection Unit. Al-Hassan revealed, 125 members of IS were arrested during the implementation of the operation.

Meanwhile, the Russian Aerospace Forces, along with the Syrian government forces, have maintained airstrikes against the hiding places of terrorist groups belonging to the IS network, causing heavy damage to the militants. terrorism.

ISIS ‘current tragic situation benefits American forces in return. Some experts believe that US forces have taken advantage of the weaknesses of IS terrorism to take pressure actions and even cooperate to realize their purpose in Syria.

Of course there is no clear evidence for this claim. The fact that US forces move IS terrorists to the base is not enough to prove the above statement. But what is happening shows that the US is stepping up its operations in Syria.

USA, Turkey attacked in Iraq

An ambulance rushed to Erbil airport in northern Iraq. Photo: RT

On the evening of April 14 (local time), the US forces stationed area at Erbil airport in northern Iraq was attacked with a drone, while a nearby Turkish base was hit by rockets. targeted, Reuters news agency said.

The Kurdish autonomous government in Iraq (headquartered in Erbil) said the drone carried TNT explosives and targeted US forces. No one was killed or injured after the attack.

This is considered the first attack using a drone targeting US forces in Erbil. Weapons used in previous attacks are usually rockets and rockets.

On the same day, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said a missile strike killed one of the soldiers at a nearby military base. Iraq confirmed such an attack, saying that shortly before the attack on US forces, two rockets were aimed at the Turkish base.

There is no information about the perpetrators of the above attacks.

Israeli intelligence agency in Iraq was attacked

The “safe house” of the Israeli intelligence agency in northern Iraq. Illustration

According to Sputnik (Russia), the Sabereen News Telegram newspaper said on the morning of April 14 that a mysterious resistance force targeted the “safe house” of the Mossad intelligence agency (Israel) in northern Iraq to attack.

Sabereen News Telegram also said that a few Israeli spies were killed.

According to the Iranian news agency, Sabereen is a newspaper related to the Shitte Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba militia group in Iraq. Iran’s PressTV television channel said that no sources in northern Iraq had reported the attack. However, Iran’s FARS news agency said that the area in northern Iraq often had many Israeli elements active and Israel had supported an illegal referendum to secede the area from Iraq in 2017.

Meanwhile, sources in northern Iraq have denied information that Iran’s PressTV channel reported on the Israeli intelligence attack. One source said there was no exact location information and that none of the Kurdish newspapers in northern Iraq had reported or heard of the incident.

The sensitive nature of the case coupled with the lack of information has left many people doubting whether the attack happened.

Previously, Iraqi military bases with US soldiers were also attacked by militias in northern Iraq, including the attack on an air base in Erbil in February. In this incident, dozens of The rocket killed one civilian contractor and injured several people.

Although the Saraya Awliya al-Dam group has accepted responsibility for the attack, US President Joe Biden ordered retaliatory airstrikes, hitting targets in Syria, home to two other Shiite militias.

President Biden maintains that these Shiite groups in Iraq are the proxies of Iran, but both Iran and these groups deny.

Hoa Vu (Th)

To be sure, the two leaders will also discuss how to deal with a rising China, North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs, climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Narrow a large cognitive gap

For now, the Biden administration will put an emphasis on promoting cooperation with allies, including Japan, and this is warmly welcomed by America’s allies. .

However, as China continues to rise and the US is urging its allies to assume greater responsibility in international affairs, there is a danger of a large gap between the US and Japan. awareness.

Although Japan is very concerned about China’s behavior, in recent years Tokyo has maintained a cooperative rather than an adversarial approach.

Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide (left) and US President Joe Biden (right) will discuss many ‘hot’ issues. (Source: AP)

In October 2018, former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo visited Beijing, and Japan signed memoranda of understanding with China on more than 50 joint projects related to infrastructure construction in third countries. .

Chinese President Xi Jinping was scheduled to make a state visit to Japan in April 2020, but the tour was subsequently postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under Prime Minister Suga, figures of “doves” and “hawks” toward China in Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) often fought for influence.

The hawks have sought ways to postpone Xi Jinping’s state visit when it comes to Xinjiang and Hong Kong issues. LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai, a supporter of Prime Minister Suga, opposed the delay, but the visit is not expected to take place in 2021.

Although Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi urged China to resolve the Xinjiang issue, Tokyo still shied away from imposing economic sanctions on its neighbor because of its lack of legal frameworks. like that.

Therefore, the US should prepare mentally that Japan will adopt a more moderate approach towards China. Japan will certainly continue to strengthen the role and mission of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF) within the framework of the Peace Constitution and the US-Japan alliance.

At the same time, Japan will also seek a clear commitment from the United States to avert Chinese military provocations, especially around the Senkaku Islands (which China also claims and calls for). Diaoyu) after China passed a new Customs Law last month, granting China’s coast guard the right to use weapons.

Analysts say the US will certainly be disappointed if it wants Japan to take significantly more aggressive military action against China. Although Japan passed a security law in 2015 that allowed the SDF to engage in limited collective defense activities, constitutional restrictions essentially forbid Japan from using force for purposes of does not involve defense.

Furthermore, the Japanese public still supports Article 9 – the peace clause – in the Rape and has little desire for the SDF to engage in combat missions that pose a risk of casualties.

Get cooperation back on track

About North Korea, both leaders advocated adopting a tough approach. Unlike his predecessor, Donald Trump, Mr. Biden is not too close to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Mr. Suga will be anxious to express his tough stance towards North Korea in the face of domestic public opinion when asking for US assistance to repatriate Japanese citizens previously kidnapped by North Korea.

President Biden had to find a way to reassure the US-Japan-Korea trilateral partnership that Trump has ignored. The key bottleneck here, however, remains tensions between Japan and South Korea over forced labor – issues that have engulfed the enthusiasm of cooperation between the two countries even though they share a common desire to curb the chapter. North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

Addressing climate change and fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic will be a “fertile ground” for the US-Japan to promote cooperation.

Regarding climate change, President Biden quickly brought the US back to the Paris Agreement and is scheduled to hold a climate summit with 40 world leaders from April 22-23.

Prime Minister Suga pledged that Japan will reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2050.

Since the financial institutions of the US and Japan lead the world in supporting the use of coal, under the leadership of these two countries, it is likely that the world will be promoted to transform energy, without using fuel. fossils that turn to renewable energy could eventually forge clean energy partnerships.

With regard to Covid-19, Since Japan and the US have a long history of cooperation in international health, the lack of cooperation between the two countries in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic is surprising. A lot of people fear that the Tokyo Olympics will turn into a super infectious event this pandemic.

More communication against Covid-19 did not yield much results. This includes Japan’s use of a supercomputer in an AI-based Covid-19 study, American doctors’ experience in treating Covid-19 patients, and the logistics of government vaccination. Mr. Biden.

Japan and the US could also support more multilateral efforts, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the EU-operated Covid Tool Access Accelerator, to help stop the spread of spread globally and vaccinate people around the world before the emergence of resistant mutations.

The US-Japan summit provides an important opportunity to get bilateral cooperation back on track. However, to best strengthen cooperation and close the perception gap, these two allies should not shy away from discussions regarding thorny issues.

(according to EastAsia Forum)