China calls for an end to harassment of civilian ships and maintenance of the safety of waterways in the Red Sea, a release from the foreign ministry in Beijing stated Monday.
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi met with the Foreign Minister of the Yemeni Internationally Recognized Government Shaya Mohsen Al-Zindan in Beijing where the dire security situation in and around the Red Sea was discussed.
China has had dialogue with Iran over the Red Sea shipping crisis in recent months, but with seemingly little success in getting the backers of the Houthis to restrain their attacks.
Chinese shipping interests have been among the more than 100 merchant vessels attacked by the Houthis since last November.
Last Friday, member states of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) called for an immediate end to ongoing attacks on ships and seafarers transiting through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
In a resolution adopted in London, IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee condemned the attacks as “illegal and unjustifiable”, posing a direct threat to the freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most critical waterways, while causing major disruptions to regional and global trade.