China: US-UK attacks on Yemen escalate tensions, threaten ship safety
4 Min Read
US-UK aggression in the Red Sea "can only escalate the tension and it’ll not guarantee or maintain the safe passage of the commercial vessels,” China's top envoy Fu Cong argued.
-
Fu Cong, the director general of the Foreign Ministry's arms control department, attends a press conference on nuclear arms control in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022 (AP)
China's envoy to the European Union warned that the United States and United Kingdom's military operations in the Red Sea are threatening the stability of the region more and debilitating the global supply further.
"They can only escalate the tension and it'll not guarantee or maintain the safe passage of the commercial vessels," China's top envoy Fu Cong told Bloomberg, ascertaining that this only makes sailing corridors riskier than they already are.
This comes as the US and UK launched an attack on positions in Yemen under the guise that the Yemeni Armed Forces were preparing to launch two anti-ship missiles at commercial ships in the Red Sea.
The US military claimed on Wednesday morning that its forces destroyed two anti-ship missiles in Yemen that were aimed at the Southern Red Sea and were prepared to launch.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that its forces identified the missiles in areas in Yemen and determined that they "presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region."
U.S. CENTCOM Destroys Two Houthi Terrorists' Anti-Ship Missiles
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 24, 2024
On Jan. 24 at approximately 2:30 a.m.(Sanaa time), U.S. Central Command forces conducted strikes against two Houthi anti-ship missiles that were aimed into the Southern Red Sea and were prepared to launch. U.S.… pic.twitter.com/l3CMPrDx92
The US-UK-led coalition failed to monitor and locate the launch sites of the Yemeni Armed Forces' (YAF) anti-ship missiles launch site, a Yemeni military official told Al Mayadeen.
Coalition satellites and American spyplanes failed to locate the launch sites of missiles that targeted a US-owned Ocean Jazz cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden. It is worth noting that the ship transports US military equipment.
Explaining that the targeted locations are "insignificant", the military source said the sites house no weapons or military equipment, adding that there were no forces positioned there at the time of the aggression.
Crises in the Red Sea sponsored by the US
It was reported that over 500 cargo ships connecting the US and Europe to Asia have been avoiding Red Sea waterways, delaying shipments, accumulating costs and carbon emissions, and threatening an already unstable economy.
Shipping costs through the Red Sea soared 310% since last November as the United States and the UK continue to deploy their strike groups in the strategic global trade waterway, with aims to protect Israeli interests from Yemeni operations.
Following the failure of US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian to deter the Yemeni Armed Forces from carrying out their vowed operations, European diplomats announced last week a new plan between EU countries, aimed at setting up a naval mission allegedly to help protect Red Sea shipping following the Yemeni Armed Forces' operations in the maritime route.
However, the consensus is that no military maritime force would be able to end Ansar Allah's conduct in the Red Sea, unless "Israel" stops all attacks and withdraws from Gaza.
Fu Cong also affirmed that the Yemeni Armed Forces' actions are in defense of Palestine and Gaza, and instead of expediting threats in the Red Sea, the international community, specifically the United States, to "exercise more leverage or pressure on the Israeli authorities to stop the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza and in particular the civilians."
"Common sense will tell us that by escalating the tension, you will only aggravate the situation and you cannot resolve the problem with the approach that the US and UK are taking," Fu said.
Read more: Russia, China ships safe to sail Red Sea if not connected to 'Israel'
