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According to Pakistani diplomatic sources cited by the Times of India, China has “warned in unequivocal terms that any attack on Pakistan would be construed as an attack on China.”
[The] sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan must be respected.
WASHINGTON: Al-Qaeda still has the capacity to stage international attacks from Pakistan despite US forces’ killing of the extremist network’s leader Osama bin Laden, a US official said Friday. Appearing before Congress, State Department official Shari Villarosa renewed calls on Pakistan to take action against extremists. “Although the AQ (Al-Qaeda) core is clearly weaker, it retains the capability to conduct regional and transnational attacks” from Pakistan, Villarosa said in written testimony to the House Committee on Homeland Security. Villarosa, the deputy counterterrorism coordinator in charge of regional affairs, pointed to the Al-Qaeda linkages of the Pakistan-based militant groups Tehreek-e-Taliban and the Haqqani network. “We will do our part and we look to the government of Pakistan to take decisive steps in the days ahead,” Villarosa said.
The staging of the fake death of bin Laden in a commando raid that violated Pakistan’s sovereignty was sold to President Obama by the military/security complex as a way to boost Obama’s standing in the polls.
The raid succeeded in raising Obama’s approval ratings. But its real purpose was to target Pakistan and to show Pakistan that the US was contemplating invading Pakistan in order to make Pakistan pay for allegedly hiding bin Laden next door to Pakistan’s military academy. The neocon, and increasingly the US military position, is that the Taliban can’t be conquered unless NATO widens the war theater to Pakistan, where the Taliban allegedly has sanctuaries protected by the Pakistan government, which takes American money but doesn’t do Washington’s bidding.
Pakistan got the threat message and ran to China.
China, concerned with India, the other Asian giant that is rising, is willing to ally with Pakistan. Moreover, China doesn’t want Americans on its border, which is where they would be should Pakistan become another American battleground.
Therefore, China showed its displeasure with the US threat to Pakistan, and advised Washington to respect Pakistan’s sovereignty, adding that any attack on Pakistan would be considered an attack on China
I do not think China’s ultimatum was reported in the US press, but it was widely reported in India’s press. India is concerned that China has stepped up to Pakistan’s defense.
The Chinese ultimatum is important, because it is a WWI or WWII level of ultimatum. With this level of commitment of China to Pakistan, Washington will now seek a way to maneuver itself out of the confrontation and to substitute India.
By the time India and China realize that they have been maneuvered into mutual destruction by the Americans, it will be too late for either to back down.