China’s disinterest in Red Sea policing role underscores Beijing’s reluctance to back its rhetoric on Middle East peace with substantive action.

China’s disinterest in Red Sea policing role underscores Beijing’s reluctance to back its rhetoric on Middle East peace with substantive action.

The Chinese government appears to be brushing off Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s call for Beijing to assist an international coalition in protecting commercial shipping in the Red Sea from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militias.

Beijing signaled that it has no interest in joining the Pentagon’s Operation Prosperity Guardian , a multinational force including Canada, the United Kingdom and Bahrain, in providing security for cargo ships under threat of Houthi attack.

“We believe relevant parties, especially major countries with influence, need to play a constructive and responsible role in keeping the shipping lanes safe in the Red Sea,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Thursday in an indirect reference to U.S. military and diplomatic heft in the region.

  • naturalgasbad@lemmy.caEnglish
    175·
    11 months ago

    This is the Suez Crisis of the 21st century. Chinese companies like OOCL are unaffected by conditions in the Red Sea and are still able to freely transit, so why should China care?

    Edit: looks like in light of the US announcing Operation “Three Aircraft Carriers in the Red Sea”, Hong Kong’s OOCL and Taiwan’s Evergreen have also now suspended shipments through the Red Sea. A few days ago, they had just suspended shipments to Israel and operated as per usual.

    Truly, contributing to the security of the region by making sure that the few companies who could transit the Red Sea without being at risk are now at risk of getting caught in the crossfire.