China-owned shipping giant halts trips to 'Israel' amid Red Sea ops.
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Cosco is the fourth largest shipping firm in the world and dominates China's EV exports to the occupation entity.
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Containers of Chinese companies China Shipping and Cosco loaded on a container as it is leaving the port in Hamburg, Germany March 11, 2020 (Social media)
Chinese state-owned shipping giant Cosco (China Ocean Shipping Company) announced suspending all "Israel"-bound vessels, joining a growing list of same-sector companies halting shipments to the occupation entity in light of Yemeni operations in the Red Sea.
Cosco is the fourth largest shipping firm in the world and holds 11% of the trade market share.
Last year, it launched a new shipping route to deliver China-made vehicles to "Israel" through the port of "Eilat" (occupied Umm al-Rashash), becoming one of the top competitors to the Israeli ZIM shipping company, previously dominating this business. ZIM had also rerouted its vessels away from the Red Sea two months ago and hiked shipping rates over the Yemeni operations.
Read more: Malaysia imposes docking ban on Israeli ships, vessels heading there
The economic effect of Cosco's decision will certainly be felt throughout the Israeli entity.
In the past few years, and as China's car industry boomed, Chinese companies considered the Israeli market to be an entry point to Europe.
During the initial two months of 2023, the occupation entity emerged as the third-largest destination for Chinese automobile exports. As of late last year, China-made vehicles accounted for 17.47% of all deliveries in the Israeli market, a substantial leap from the 4.8% in 2022.
Additionally, Chinese vehicle brands, including Teslas manufactured in China, dominated the electric vehicle EV sector in "Israel," commanding a 70% market share.
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Yemen in support of Gaza
Since "Israel" launched its brutal war on Gaza, the United States has been working discreetly to prevent the outbreak of a more extensive war involving multiple countries. On the other hand, Washington has also shot down all efforts to end the aggression, including the vetoing of several UNSC resolutions, which garnered majority backing, calling for a ceasefire.
In response to the ongoing genocide in Gaza and in support of its besieged people, Sanaa announced last November the launching of a set of measures against the Israeli entity, to pressure the US and "Tel Aviv" to end the war.
The measures included striking Israeli targets in occupied Palestine, mainly "Eilat" (occupied Umm al-Rashash), and banning all Israeli, Israeli-affiliated, and "Israel"-bound ships from crossing the Red and Arabian seas, with a consequence of becoming targets to the Yemeni Armed Forces if they failed to comply.
Meanwhile, Sanaa repeatedly stressed that its operations will only affect the mentioned vessels, confirming that navigation is completely safe for all others while vowing that attacks will not stop until the war on Gaza stops.
