Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian Photo: fmprc.gov.cn

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged the US to make comprehensive and detailed clarifications on its biological military activities, rather than opposing the establishment of a multilateral verification mechanism and targeting other countries to divert the attention of the international society from its biological laboratories in Ukraine. 

Responding to the distraction from its biological labs in Ukraine by reinforcing the allegations of Russia's use of chemical weapons, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that the US has no right to turn a blind eye to the fact that it has not provided a convincing explanation on the issue of its biological military activities.

Zhao said that addressing concerns through consultation and cooperation is itself required by the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). There are many ambiguities and even contradictions in what the US has said so far, which has further increased the doubts of the international community.

Zhao noted that the US should give a convincing explanation of the concerns including the number of facilities the US owns in the biological cooperation around the globe, the number of biological samples removed by the US under the US-Ukraine agreement and their use, the sensitive information that Ukraine is not allowed to disclose under the agreement, and whether the US is conducting dangerous research abroad that is prohibited at home.

"The US, on the one hand, marked the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Biological Weapons Convention for signature as a depositary country and talked about strengthening the mechanism of the convention," said Zhao, pointing out that the US, on the other hand, continued to ignore the appeal of the international community at the convention conference that concluded this week.

As one of the remaining parties to the BWC, the US should lead by example and stop opposing the resumption of multilateral negotiations aimed at establishing a verification regime for the BWC, Zhao emphasized. 

After repeatedly denying owning or operating biological laboratories in Ukraine, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland on March 8 said Ukraine has biological research facilities, adding that Washington works with Ukraine to prevent the facilities from falling into Russian forces' hands.

Global Times