According to a media report, the US is asking China for help to counter attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on merchant ships in the Red Sea. China should influence Iran so that its allies in Yemen comply, the Financial Times (“FT”) reported.
However, there is little sign of corresponding support from the Chinese government, the FT reported, citing US government circles. The US has repeatedly raised its concerns about China over the past three months.
This morning, the US military attacked two Houthi militia targets in Yemen and destroyed two anti-ship missiles. These missiles were aimed at the Red Sea and ready to be fired, the US military said in a statement. The US military has classified the missiles as an imminent threat to merchant ships and US Navy ships in the region.
Since mid-November, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have attacked numerous ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which they accuse of having links to Israel. The militia sees itself as part of the self-proclaimed “Axis of Resistance” directed against Israel, of which radical Islamist Hamas is also a member. In response to the attacks, the United States and Britain attacked Houthi positions in Yemen, and the United States also carried out further attacks.