China Calls On Houthi’s To End Ship Attacks
The Chinese foreign minister is reported to have met with his Yemeni counterpart in Beijing this week to discuss the Red Sea crisis and subsequently called for Houthi Rebels to end their attacks on commercial shipping in the region.
A statement from the Chinese foreign ministry read “China calls for an end to harassment of civilian ships and maintenance of the safety of waterways in the Red Sea, and is willing to continue to play a constructive role in this regard,”
The attacks on shipping gave the vast majority of carriers no choice but to reroute vessels away from the danger zone, which has led to major disruption on Asia origin services through reduced capacity, a shortage of container equipment and now port congestion.
Prior to the vessel diversions, the Iranian backed Houthi’s are reported to have attacked over 100 vessels in the Red Sea and surrounding areas, and the now spiralling ocean freight costs and delays are hurting Chinese exports.
China is Iran’s most important trading partner by far, and are understood to have had previous dialogue regarding the Red Sea issue, but it is widely hoped that the most recent pressure will help to bring an end to the attacks on shipping.
