US bombings set a precedent for more transgressions: China

BEIJING, Sept 2: China today, for the first time, openly criticised the United States for launching retaliatory missile strikes on Afghan...

BEIJING, Sept 2: China today, for the first time, openly criticised the United States for launching retaliatory missile strikes on Afghanistan and Sudan saying it set a “bad precedent.”

“There is no doubt that the US attacks constituted a transgression of other countries’ sovereignty,” the official “China Daily” said in a commentary on the August 20 cruise missile attack by the US on Afghanistan and Sudan in retaliation to the bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on August seven.

“Such a bad precedent not only encourages further violations of sovereignty, but also jeopardises international collaboration in the crusade against terrorism,” the Daily said.

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Pointing out that the US missile attacks have not erected an umbrella of protection for American citizens, it said that US facilities overseas have been flooded with terrorist threats leading to closure of some embassies.

“So far, there has been no sign that the suspected terrorists behind the East African bombings, the target of theUS bomb attacks, have suffered any substantial damage,” it said while questioning the right of Washington to attack other sovereign states.

“National boundaries act as the limits of jurisdiction of sovereign states. Mutual respect for sovereignty is a precondition to achieving co-operation between different countries,” it said commenting that Washington’s claim of having `compelling evidence’ to launch missile attacks on Afghanistan and Sudan has turned out to be less than convincing.

The Daily points out that the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed hundreds and injured thousands had rallied the international community to the side of the United States.

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However, it notes that this support collapsed soon after the US retaliated by launching missile attacks on Afghanistan and Sudan.

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