In the movie "Wolf Warrior 2", the shot of Leng Feng holding the five-star red flag across the line of fire, many people will think that this is an artistic processing to achieve a certain effect. However, what people didn't expect is that by 2024, the Red Sea, where the "ship raid war" is being staged, will truly become a "pass" to ensure safety.
(The Red Sea makes the artistic presentation of "Wolf Warrior" a reality)
Since the Houthis launched a "ship raid" in the Red Sea, although the United States has sent a fleet here to cover the high and low, it has still been unable to protect the ships of various countries, especially those associated with the United States and Israel. As a result, merchant ships from all over the world diverted to the Cape of Good Hope to carry goods to Europe.
As a result, Egypt's income fell dramatically, and the volume of world trade as a whole declined. According to data from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany, the cost of transporting a standard 40-foot container from China to Northern Europe has jumped from $1,500 to $4,000, directly contributing to a 1.3% drop in world trade volume in December 2023. It can be said that the Houthis' "ship raids" in the Red Sea not only hit Israel and the United States, but also easily angered Egypt and China.
So, in order to avoid making too many enemies of their own, the Houthis at one point openly announced that they would only attack merchant ships linked to Israel and the United States. However, with the organization of the "Prosperity Guardian" operation by the United States and the participation of many countries in Europe and the United States in this so-called "maritime alliance", the scope of the Houthi attack has further expanded, and the situation has become more complicated.
(Houthi dinghy on the Red Sea)
At this time, the word "China" became the "talisman" of multinational merchant ships. This was first discovered by Bloomberg, and in order to avoid being attacked by the Houthis, some foreign merchant ships voluntarily declared on the automatic identification system that their crews were "Chinese" or "all Chinese", and even claimed to be Chinese ships in the Red Sea.
Among them, the Liberian-flagged bulk carriers "Dayang" and "Dias", which often go to Chinese ports, once claimed that the crew members were "Chinese sailors" or signaled "China" when they passed through the Red Sea.
After the revelation was revealed, more media outlets followed up and found that the Houthis seemed to be "turning a blind eye" to the situation, so more and more ships began to do the same. On 11 January, there were only 2-5 merchant ships taking such measures, but by 14 January the number had increased to 9.
(A ship sails through the Suez Canal to the Red Sea)
Since the word "China" allows more ships to pass through the Red Sea, the Houthis went a step further by declaring that "ships from countries such as Russia and China can safely pass through the Red Sea and sail in the area without being threatened." In fact, Russia, which has underdeveloped international trade and the Arctic Ocean shipping routes, is not seriously dependent on the Red Sea trade routes.
Therefore, the Houthis' listing of Russia's name is just a favor, and the real purpose of this move is to show goodwill to China and show that it will not hinder China's overseas trade path. You must know that China's total import and export trade in 2023 will reach 41.76 trillion yuan, and any wind and grass may have a huge impact. Once offending China, what kind of consequences will be triggered, perhaps the Houthis are also well aware.
However, what the Houthis did not expect was that this move not only cleared the trade routes, but also made the Chinese cargo ships experience the feeling of "the stars holding the moon". Because too many cargo ship owners or freight companies can no longer afford the high cost, they hope to "rub" the Chinese ship and increase their safety in the Red Sea.
(The U.S. bombing did not bring peace to the Red Sea)
To this end, major shipping companies began to use existing Chinese cargo ships or charter Chinese cargo ships to undertake the business of the Red Sea route. However, after all, Chinese cargo ships are limited, and with only a few rounds of "carving-up", there are no Chinese cargo ships on the market that can be put into shipping at any time. Perhaps because of their long experience with Chinese cargo ships and crews, these foreign shipowners and crews have long realized what it means to be "as long as there is no slippery slope of thinking, there are always more solutions than difficulties".
Since there is none, Chinese merchant ships can be "hired", so the method of "rubbing ships" is adopted. As a result, there was a spectacle in the Red Sea, that is, at a certain moment there was no "sail into the sea" on the Red Sea lane, but at the entrance to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a large number of ships were ready to go. If there is a Chinese-flagged cargo ship, the ships of various countries will immediately form a fleet to sail together. After all, the Houthis have a wide range of missiles, but they fall far short in terms of accuracy.
Therefore, if these merchant ships are close to the Chinese cargo ships, the Houthis will not dare to launch a strike, and they will be able to safely pass through the Red Sea and enter Europe through the Suez Canal.
(Aerial view: at the southern entrance to the Suez Canal near the Egyptian Red Sea port city of Suez)
At present, it seems that the Red Sea "ship raid war" will not stop, so this kind of "ship-rubbing" behavior will continue to appear. As a result, the most embarrassing thing is the United States, which cannot imagine that all kinds of armed strikes have not brought the Houthis to their knees, but instead the five-star red flag has become an unimpeded "pass" in the Red Sea. This kind of way that the Americans fought wars and helped China elevate its status as a great power may not have been imagined.