Yemen's Houthi attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea region have been going on for some time. Naturally, the United States has also actively assumed its own "responsibilities" and has begun to interpret the meaning of "world policeman".
But even though the United States has drawn many allies to condemn the Houthis, and even staged a "multinational joint escort" operation in the Red Sea, the results are obvious, and the Houthis have not been intimidated by these paper tigers of the United States at all.
Recently, the United States seems to have begun to change its strategy and is ready to start from the perspective of public opinion. And this time, the entry point chosen by the United States is China. A reporter from the British media "Reuters" asked at a regular press conference of the Chinese Foreign Ministry why China did not join the United States in condemning the Houthis?
merchant vessel
The journalist said that now the United States, Canada, Japan and other countries have issued a joint statement urging the Houthis to stop their attacks in the Red Sea, but China has not joined the statement and condemned it.
It is not difficult to see that this issue can be described as menacing, and there is even a hint of "questioning" China. Moreover, the reporter specifically mentioned that the United States, Australia and other countries have condemned the Houthis, which is to emphasize the "justice" of this move.
When asked why China didn't do this, it may have been unintentional, but in practice, it may have been deliberate, and when asked why China didn't condemn it, the reporter's way of asking was "why didn't it join".
In other words, the question is why China has not joined the ranks of the US-led group to condemn the Houthis. This is either an attempt to tie China to the United States, or an attempt to describe the attitude of China and the United States on this issue as "antagonistic."
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin
To put it simply, by condemning the Houthis under the reporter's question, China is "standing with the United States" and "following" the United States. After all, it was the United States that carried out the joint defense forces in the Red Sea, and it was also the first to condemn the Houthis.
But if the answer is "no condemnation", then according to the usual practice of the Western media, it is very likely to praise the protection of merchant ships in the Red Sea by the United States and other countries, as well as China's reports of "sitting idly by".
It can be said that this question from the British media reporter has set up a lot of scheming. However, China's response was also very clever and did not follow the reporter's train of thought.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin first stressed the importance of the Red Sea for international trade in goods and energy, and also pointed out the importance of maintaining security and stability in the region. Subsequently, he also made clear China's attitude.
US President Joe Biden
Wang Wenbin pointed out that China's consistent stand is to safeguard the security of international waterways and oppose attacks and harassment of civilian vessels. On the maintenance of the security of the Red Sea shipping lanes, he stressed that China believes that all parties should play a constructive and responsible role in this regard.
On the one hand, this statement expounds China's affirmation of the importance of the security of the Red Sea shipping lanes, and on the other hand, it also makes it clear that China opposes attacks and harassment of civilian vessels and supports the maintenance of shipping lane security.
However, it should be emphasized that there is a difference between the Houthis' rhetoric of attacking Israeli-linked ships and China's response of civilian vessels. And this detail can prevent some people from stirring up relations between China and Middle Eastern countries.
In the final analysis, China is not opposed to the protection of civilian ships, and also supports the maintenance of the security of international waterways. But the question is, is the collective condemnation of the Houthis by the United States and other countries, as well as the organization of the Joint Protection Group in the Red Sea, really to protect civilian merchant ships?
Anrikai
Looking at the overall situation, I'm afraid not. It cannot be ruled out that the United States is obstructing the Houthis' behavior in the Palestinian-Israeli situation under the guise of maintaining stability. After all, the purpose of the Houthis is to help the Palestinians.
Speaking of which, it has to be mentioned why the United States is blocking the Houthis. It is true that on the issue of the Palestinian-Israeli situation, the best thing to do is for the parties concerned to sit down and have a good talk. But now it is clear that the conditions for peace talks are not in place.
It is not denied that this move by the Houthis may lead to an escalation of the situation, but is the US move conducive to cooling the situation? Not to mention how much military aid the United States itself has provided to Israel, the United States has voted the most against the cease-fire resolution at the UN Security Council.
Against this background, I am afraid that the countries of the world are very confident that the United States has the ability, sincerity and simplicity to maintain peace and stability in the Red Sea. Looking at the condemnation of the Houthis by the United States and others, this is a rhetorical question: What qualifications does the United States have to condemn the Houthis?
The situation in Gaza
On the whole, I believe that anyone with a discerning eye can see some of the intentions implied by this question of the British media reporter. This may also expose the desire of some Western countries to use this kind of public opinion to drag China into the water.
But no matter what the Western countries have in mind to drag China into the quagmire of its interests in the Middle East, their calculations are doomed to fail.