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On January 7, senior Houthi leader Mohammed Ali Houthi issued a statement promising not to attack ships that have "nothing to do with Israel."
Following a bombshell signal from China, COSCO Shipping, a Chinese state-owned enterprise and the world's fourth-largest shipping giant, announced that it would no longer undertake business with Israel.
(COSCO SHIPPING no longer undertakes business in Israel)
Combined with the news in the Danish media two days later that some of the "world's top shipping companies" reached an agreement with the Houthis in Yemen, it is obvious that COSCO is also one of them, but this is unacceptable bad news for Israel.
Houthis "patched"
In the current round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Houthis in Yemen decided to use their geographical advantages to blockade the Red Sea from ships related to Israel in order to show their support for their Palestinian brothers.
Although the number and accuracy of Houthi attacks were limited due to the level of equipment, the results were immediate.
For the majority of shipowners, as long as one attack has an effect, they need to reconsider their choice, after all, no one knows if their ship will be the next unlucky one.
(Major shipping companies have taken measures)
Major shipping companies have chosen to change lanes, and some shipping companies have chosen to stop cooperating with Israel to ensure safety, which makes Israel, whose economy is heavily dependent on international trade, quite uncomfortable.
As a result, Israel is not the only one that has suffered, as the rising trade costs caused by the forced detour of Asia-Europe trade have dealt a heavy blow to the European economy, which has already underperformed due to the epidemic.
In order to continue to shield Israel and ensure "bloc unity," the United States hastened to organize various countries to carry out joint escorts in the Red Sea, but their escorts have failed to ensure the safety of merchant ships in the Red Sea.
Although they shot down a number of Houthi drones and missiles, some "fish that slipped through the net" damaged the "Maersk Hangzhou" ship under the noses of the US warship.
The U.S. military was furious, counterattacked on the spot and destroyed three Houthi armed boats, and subsequently rallied 12 countries to issue an "ultimatum" to the Houthis, threatening war.
(Houthis detonate unmanned boats in the Red Sea)
However, the Houthis have been very angry, publicly speaking back against the United States, saying that they are only trying to protect Israel and showing their determination by detonating unmanned boats in the Red Sea.
However, although the Houthis are aware of the fact that merchant ships are now in danger and do not dare to pass through the Red Sea, which has caused the global economy to suffer, they do not want to offend the world as a group with political goals.
So, after showing that they are not afraid of threats, the Houthis also began to "patch" their actions.
On 7 January, senior Houthi leader Mohammed Ali Houthi reiterated that the Houthis only strike at Israeli-linked vessels.
In a statement, he pledged that the Houthis would not strike as long as the cargo ship informed the Houthis early that it was not carrying Israeli cargo and would not call at Israeli ports.
(The Houthis reached an agreement with some shipowners)
Subsequently, immediately after that, the Houthis also docked with some shipping companies and reached specific agreements with them on this issue.
COSCO SHIPPING ceased operations in Israel
According to a report by Danish media ShippingWatch on the 8th, there are many companies that have reached an agreement with the Houthis among the "world's top shipping companies", however, Maersk, the leader of the shipping industry, issued a statement and did not "reconcile" with the Houthis.
At this time, the specific shipping giants that have reached an agreement with the Houthis have immediately attracted the attention of many parties, because this may lead to a major change in the pattern of the world shipping industry.
At this moment, someone noticed a news in the Israeli media: COSCO Shipping, a Chinese state-owned enterprise and the world's fourth-largest cargo shipping company accounting for about 11% of global trade, decided on January 7 to stop the Israeli route.
(COSCO SHIPPING)
Judging from the timing of this news, COSCO Shipping is likely to be one of the giants that reached an agreement with Israel.
The news caught the Israelis off guard, and in their eyes, the safety of Chinese ships was relatively secure because China maintained good relations with Iran and the Houthis relied on Iran for support.
Even with the Houthi blockade of the Red Sea, Chinese ships have not been attacked, believing that China will not abandon Israel's huge market because of such a highly unlikely attack.
In the case of major shipping companies detouring one after another, COSCO Shipping's ships were once Israel's "life-saving straw".
Now that COSCO has announced the cessation of the Israel route, Israeli ZIM has had to take over the Far East route under the pressure of reduced ship availability and increased costs, but even so, Israel's supply pressure has risen further.
(Israel confirms China's choice of Iran)
The Israeli media wailed that China had chosen Iran, and that it was also a warning to Israel that the relationship between China and Israel had changed and would no longer be the same.
This statement is completely unreasonable, because COSCO Shipping is also an enterprise in the final analysis, and it also wants to control risks.
While China does have good relations with Iran when the Houthis have explicitly stated that they want to attack "Israeli-related vessels," COSCO obviously cannot take chances just because of this factor and think that the Houthis will not attack their ships.
Although Israel's trade profits are not small, it is nothing compared to the European market, and it is a normal choice for COSCO Shipping to abandon the Israeli market in order to ensure that Sino-European trade is not hindered.
(Gaza Humanitarian Crisis)
However, in a sense, Israel's judgment is not wrong, and in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Israel's acts of "genocide" in Gaza, despite the opposition of the international community, must be stopped.
Many countries, including China, have called for a ceasefire from the beginning and have continued to speak out at the United Nations, but Israel has been able to continue their actions against Gaza because of the protection of the United States, and this situation should not continue forever.
What Israel should do now is not to complain about COSCO Shipping's choice to abandon Israeli shipping routes in order to ensure the safety of its ships, but to stop its own massacre in Gaza and cool down the situation in the Middle East.
Resources
Yemeni Houthis: As long as the ship declares that it has "nothing to do with Israel", it will not be attacked Observer.com
The Chinese giant halted its voyage to Israel. How will this affect the price? globes
The Houthis reached an agreement with some shipowners, and the shipping stock reappeared in the Associated Press of Finance
The "Maersk Hangzhou" ship was attacked twice in 24 hours, and the US military said it had sunk three Houthi vessels