Peter the Great destroyed his own subject's lands...
...in order to deny food and shelter to the invading enemy (Sweden? Prussia? can't remember). I'd be surprised if the Chinese didn't try it at least once against the Mongols.
Likewise, assasination and kidnapping have been perpetrated vs. any type of target (military, business, civilian, etc.) you can name.
That being said: what has changed? I'm really not following this "outdated" arguement.