China Joins Russia In Condemning US Strikes In Middle East

After the Friday large-scale US strikes on Iranian proxy positions in Iraq and Syria, and following the Saturday and Sunday Western coalition attacks on Houthi positions in Yemen, China on Monday issued a blistering condemnation of what is sees as aggression against sovereign countries 

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a press briefing, "Syria and Iraq are sovereign countries" and thus “China opposes any act that violates the UN Charter and infringes upon other countries’ territorial sovereignty and security."

"The current situation in the Middle East is highly complex and sensitive," Wenbin added. "China urges relevant parties to earnestly observe the international law, remain calm, exercise restraint, and prevent the tensions in the region from escalating or even spiraling out of control."

Beijing's critiques of this latest round of Western military intervention related to ongoing spillover from the Gaza war echo that of Russia's rhetoric. Russia soon after Biden's Friday airstrikes on Iraq and Syria called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to address the crisis.

The Kremlin has gone so far as to accuse the US of stoking a great power confrontation and larger war for the Middle East.

"It is clear that the airstrikes were specifically intended to further escalate the conflict," Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. "By relentlessly attacking the facilities of allegedly pro-Iranian groups in Iraq and Syria, the United States has been purposefully attempting to draw the largest countries in the region into the conflict." 

Meanwhile, Yemen's Houthis have continued to give Chinese and Russian commercial shipping a free pass in the Red Sea, while attacking US, UK, Israeli-linked and other shipping vessels.

Still, as VOA reports, "China's navy has started escorting Chinese cargo ships through the Red Sea, according to a shipping company and Chinese state media reports." Most major shipping companies are choosing to avoid the passage altogether. 

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