In the past three months, the United States has tried its best to ask China to send a message to the Houthis, but it has never been able to receive the letter. Seeing that the situation in the Red Sea was about to get out of control, the United States decided to take a fight and directly come to the door to block people.
Recently, at the invitation of Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bambi, Foreign Minister Wang Yi will pay a four-day visit to Thailand. Judging from the information that has been reported so far, the focus of the talks between the two sides this time is to discuss the visa-free policy between China and Thailand, and at the same time implement the various cooperation agreements reached by the two heads of state in November last year, including promoting the development concept of the China-Laos-Thailand railway, deepening cooperation in the fields of economy, trade and tourism, and jointly cracking down on transnational crimes such as wire fraud.
It is not difficult to see that Foreign Minister Wang Yi's itinerary this time can be said to be full. Shortly after Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Thailand, there was also action on the U.S. side, with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan saying he hoped to have a private meeting with Wang Yi in Thailand to discuss tensions in the Red Sea over Houthi attacks on merchant ships. Prior to that, Sullivan had also asked China to put pressure on Iran, which supports the Houthis, to avoid further escalation, but China did not give a clear reply.
[Wang Yi and Sullivan met last year]
It is worth mentioning that in the past three months, the United States has repeatedly shouted to the Chinese high-level that China will send a message to the Houthis to stop attacking passing merchant ships. Because it has been more than a month since the United States formed a Red Sea escort fleet, and it has attacked the Houthis for more than half a month, but it has basically not played any role in containment, but has provoked fierce retaliation by the Houthis. As the situation intensified, the United States decided to take the initiative, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit allowed the United States to seize the opportunity to go directly to Thailand to block people.
Because for the United States, getting China to step in is arguably the only solution to the Red Sea crisis.
As you know, the Houthis have long been considered a regional anti-American group backed by Iran, and Iran has good relations with China, so the United States believes that if China puts pressure on Iran, then Iran will restrain Houthi attacks, which is why the United States has been trying to get in touch with China for the past three months. However, it is worth mentioning that for a long time, the United States has been wearing colored glasses in its cooperation with China and Iran, and has repeatedly demonized the cooperation between China and Iran. Now, the United States has more than once hoped that China would use this relationship to exert influence over the Houthis through Iran, and this obvious self-slapping in the face is undoubtedly another portrayal of the double standards of the United States.
[Iranian president calls Houthis to support him]
Second, since the outbreak of the current round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, China has repeatedly raised the voice of justice in the Security Council, calling on the international community to face up to the right of the Gaza people to exist, but has been blocked many times by the United States and its allies. The Houthis chose to attack passing merchant ships in order to pressure the United States and Israel to make concessions. It is precisely for this reason that the Houthis have given the green light to Chinese merchant ships and have expressed appreciation for China's efforts on the Palestinian-Israeli issue. At a time when the United States and the Houthis are on suffrage, establishing a communication channel with the Houthis through China is undoubtedly the best option. At the same time, the United States does not hesitate to show a weak image and asks China to step up its mediation, and we can also feel how bad the current situation of the United States is.
In the past, in the face of repeated provocations by the Houthis, the United States directly bombed Houthi-related targets in Yemen, but it did not achieve the expected results, and the attacks on merchant ships passing through the sea did not decrease. In addition, the Houthis have given the United States and Britain an ultimatum to the staff of the two countries to leave Yemen within a time limit. Pentagon officials have also said that the blow to the Houthis will not work, and the leadership shown by the United States in launching the escort operation has been wiped out, leaving only a tired figure.
However, it can be seen from the repeated demands of the United States that China has not clearly recognized the root cause of the Red Sea crisis.
[Houthi operations in the Red Sea]
Although the current attacks on civilian ships have been carried out by the Houthis, the underlying cause of the crisis is the spread of the effects of the conflict in Gaza. In order to solve this fundamental problem, what the United States needs most to do is to get Palestine and Israel to cease fire at an early date and implement the "two-state solution." If the United States continues to ignore this critical issue and simply intensify military action against the Red Sea, it will only exacerbate the violent conflict. However, it can be seen from the current situation that the United States has no attitude of dialogue at all.
On the contrary, the United States has continued its previous practice, trying to drag China into the water in every geopolitical conflict, and putting forward the so-called "China responsibility theory". In fact, China has never shied away from cooperating with the United States on issues that benefit both sides and even the world, but it can be seen that the United States is eager to meet with China this time in order to shift the responsibility for the regional crisis to China as much as possible.
The United States, which has long feared that China would fill the so-called "power vacuum" it has left in the Middle East, has demonized legitimate cooperation between China and countries in the region and sought to weaken China's "influence" in the region. The current situation further proves that China firmly stands on the side of peace and supports regional countries and China for mutual benefit and common development, which is more effective than the US clique and promotes regional peace and stability.