The strikes carried out by the Houthis in Yemen in the Red Sea have clearly targeted a large number of merchant ships and warships of the United States and other Western countries, and the continuous attacks of the Houthis have caused the United States to launch many strikes, but in fact the US strikes have not stopped the crazy actions of the Houthis. According to the many information obtained by the War Research Institute, an oil tanker operated by China but not registered in China was hit by multiple missiles by the Houthis, but such missile hits did not cause the ship to sink.
Although the Houthi strikes are targeted at Western countries, and the Houthis have previously made it clear that they will not launch strikes against Chinese ships, it is not difficult to see that Chinese ships are now at higher risk in the Red Sea, and shipping prices are soaring around the world due to the Houthi strikes. According to the recent proposal of the US media, the US side believes that in the future, if US warships want to safely pass through the Red Sea, then taking Chinese cargo ships as hostages is the simplest choice and the most effective, and the so-called taking Chinese ships as hostages means that while Chinese ships cross the Red Sea, US ships quickly follow and complete the crossing of the Red Sea, so that the United States does not have to worry about surface ships being attacked by the Houthis, but such a practice is also more likely to lead to miscalculations. The Houthis are now determined to target and deter US and Western ships, and if US ships hide behind Chinese ships and the Houthi missiles are not accurate, it is very easy to cause Chinese ships to be in distress.
At present, the PLA escort fleet is operating in the waters around the Gulf of Aden, and from a geographical point of view, the Gulf of Aden is very close to the Red Sea. Although the U.S. military has sent a number of Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers to escort ships in the Red Sea, in this way to protect a large number of surface ships from attack, but from the actual effect, it has not played a role; if the PLA warships can escort our surface ships through the Red Sea, the war research institute believes that on the one hand, the US cargo ships do not dare to get too close, and on the other hand, the Houthis do not dare to open fire, because the Houthis do not want to offend China now. Previously, the Houthis had made it clear that they would not launch strikes against Chinese surface ships.
If the PLA warships must appear in the Red Sea, then they must be a last resort, because the PLA warships have already carried out high-intensity tasks in escorting ships in the Gulf of Aden, and they have launched round after round of escort operations for a large number of merchant ships to the Red Sea, which obviously has restrained more of the PLA's energy. Although the PLA's 052D missile destroyers have not created any actual combat results, the war research believes that if the 052D is really responsible for intercepting the Houthi anti-ship missiles and drones, this kind of combat results does not seem to have any practical effect, because the strength of the Houthis is obviously different from the strength of the high-end opponents faced by the PLA.
The Chinese side has also repeatedly urged the Houthis to cease fire as soon as possible, but the confrontation between the United States and the Houthis has no intention of stopping, and now the United States has proposed to use Chinese ships as hostages in order to avoid the Houthis' attacks. Text/Iris