The commentary, signed by Zhu Mengkui, said unlike the 1991 Gulf war, the present one lacked legality since that it had not been authorized by the United Nations.

The commentary quoted UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as saying before the war that "If the US goes outside the Security Council, it will not be in conformity with the UN charter."

"If they (the US and its allies) fail to agree on a common position and action is taken without the authority of the Security Council, the legitimacy and support for any such action would be seriously impaired," the UN chief warned.

The commentary charged that in face of global appeals for peaceful settlement of the Iraq crisis, the United States and its allies still started the unilateral war on a sovereign country in defiance of the United Nations authority and in disregard of opposition by the international community. It noted: "The use of force or threatened use of force to solve international disputes would only lead to serious consequences going contrary to one's wishes."

On Thursday, the Chinese government issued a statement soon after the Iraq war started, saying it is seriously concerned over the United States' unilateral military actions against Iraq. It said the Chinese government has all along stood for a political settlement of the Iraq issue within the UN framework.

The Chinese government's position on the Iraq issue reflects a common voice of the Chinese people and other peoples around the world for peace, stability and development and against war, the commentary said.

As the Gulf region was once again surging with war fire, waves of anti-war protests rose to a new high throughout the world, it said.

Leaders of some countries and international organizations have made statements criticizing the United States and its allies for ignoring the progress made on the Iraq issue and closing the door to peaceful solution too early. They have asked for an immediate stop to the ongoing military action and for settling the Iraqi crisis through consultation and negotiation.

The non-interference in each other's internal affairs and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity are the two most fundamental principles governing international relations universally recognized.

Therefore, leaders of some countries have pointed out that launching a war against a sovereign country without United Nations authorization is in gross violation of international law and the UN Charter. Meanwhile, the waves of anti-war protests, of unprecedented scales, have fully reflected the ardent aspiration of the international community for peace, the commentary concluded.

(Xinhua News Agency March 22, 2003)