Beijing: No country should act as world’s judge or police

China has criticised the United States for seizing Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, accusing Washington of acting like a “world judge” and questioning the legality of the operation at the United Nations.

The move, in which U.S. forces removed Maduro from Caracas on January 3, has drawn sharp rebukes from Beijing, which follows a policy of non-intervention and routinely condemns military actions undertaken without UN Security Council approval, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

Speaking in Beijing to his Pakistani counterpart, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, “We have never believed that any country can act as the world's police, nor do we accept that any nation can claim to be the world's judge,” referring to the “sudden developments in Venezuela” without directly naming the United States. He added, “The sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law.”

The 63-year-old Maduro appeared in a New York court on January 5, pleading not guilty to narcotics charges. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council convened at the request of Colombia, with backing from China and Russia, to discuss the U.S. operation. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the seizure could set “a dangerous precedent.”

At the meeting, Sun Lei, the charge d’affaires of China’s Permanent Mission to the UN, expressed Beijing’s condemnation. “The lessons of history offer a stark warning,” he said. “Military means are not the solution to problems, and the indiscriminate use of force will only lead to greater crises.”

Analysts said China, the world’s second-largest economy, is likely to play a key role in rallying international criticism of Washington.

“There isn't much in the way of material support that China can offer Venezuela at this time, but rhetorically, Beijing will be very important when it leads the effort at the UN and with other developing countries to rally opinion against the U.S.,” said Eric Olander, co-founder of the China-Global South Project.

He added, “What we've seen in the cases of Zimbabwe and Iran, both sanctioned by the West, is that China demonstrates its commitment to these relationships through trade and investment, even under difficult circumstances.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev