The world was shocked again when WikiLeaks revelations showed on Tuesday that the US National Security Agency (NSA) eavesdropped on the last three French presidents, Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande from 2006 to 2012. WikiLeaks said the top-secret files "derive from directly targeted NSA surveillance of the communications" of the three French presidents as well as French ministers and the ambassador to the US, with more "timely and important revelations" soon.

The disclosed intercepts concerned subjects like the Middle East peace process, Greece's possible exit from the eurozone and an appointment to the UN. Although the US would not confirm the reports, Hollande said France won't "tolerate" such acts and required the US to respect a promise not to spy on French leaders.

In 2013 there was a similar disclosure when former NSA contractor Edward Snowdenrevealed that the US spied on German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Since then the world has come to understand that the US is spying on its allies at will and has no bottom line. The latest exposure will undoubtedly deepen this understanding and consume any respect for the superpower.

But the breaches in privacy of three French presidents are still strong enough to cause concerns about the pervasive surveillance and bring embarrassment for US diplomatic relations with France, as it has done to US-Germany ties. It enables people to have a closer look at American self-centered principles and the disorder as well as inequality it creates in the world.

The irony is that the snooper that always bugs others depicts itself as a pitiable victim of China. Just prior to the seventh round of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) on June 22-24, American media widely reported that hackers breached the Office of Personnel Management and accessed data of more than 4 million government employees. Even without concrete evidence, they pointed fingers at China for the hacking and urged the US to raise the cyber security issue with China during the S&ED. A question then arises: How can a country allegedly seriously victimized by Chinese hackers successfully spy on the top leaders of its allies for years without being detected? It indeed sends awkward messages.

With more revelations coming, how will the US maintain its ostensibly self-righteous image and defend its own rule-breaking for self-interest? Will the US check its own records when it wants to blame others? That's a question.