Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue yesterday cautioned the United States on its intention to add Iraq to the list of military strike targets in its anti-terrorism fight.
"China supports the war against terrorism, but the Chinese Government maintains the fight should follow the principles of the UN Charter, the relevant norms of international laws and should be based on concrete evidence," said Zhang at a regular press briefing.
"We are against wanton expansion of the strikes," she said.
US President George W. Bush said last week the United States will fight terror wherever it exists, adding the front against terror is not limited to Afghanistan.
This week, Bush insisted that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein allows inspectors back into Iraq to prove no weapons of mass destruction were being developed. Asked what would happen if Saddam refused, Bush replied, "He'll find out."
Iraqi Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan said on Wednesday his country was ready to defend itself against any US military strikes.
"We always expect evil and aggression from the American administration...Our preparations (to confront any US attacks) are always in place," Ramadan said in a live interview from Baghdad broadcast on Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite television station.
(China Daily November 30, 2001)
