Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Sunday that she had asked Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to “work together to influence the Houthis to keep the Red Sea open.”
Joly said she met with Wang on Saturday and tried to convince him that keeping Red Sea shipping lanes safe was “in China’s interest as an exporting country.”
jolie and one talked beside munich security conference, ended on Sunday.king promised In his speech at the conference, he said China would be a “stabilizing force” in the world, meaning it would protect international shipping through one of the world’s busiest sea lanes from violent terrorist groups. This seems to be hinting that he might cooperate with the project.
View of the oil tanker Merlin Luanda, which burst into flames after being attacked by the Houthis in the Gulf of Aden, January 27, 2024 (Indian Navy, Associated Press)
Mr. Wang told Mr. Jolie that the government wants to repair relations with Canada, which were badly damaged by the Meng Wanzhou scandal.
Meng is the chief financial officer of telecommunications giant Huawei and a key figure in the Chinese Communist Party. arrested He was arrested in Canada in December 2018 and placed under house arrest for extradition to the United States on charges of sanctions evasion.China kidnapped several Canadians hostage in retaliation, and released This came shortly after the charges against Meng were dropped in late 2021.
Canada also has accused China is suspected of interfering in the election, and an investigation is underway. Wang addressed these issues, saying the “current difficult situation” is “not what China wants.”
“The two countries are neither enemies nor rivals. They should be cooperative partners,” Wang said, adding that Canada should “stop spreading false information about so-called Chinese interference in China.” Domestic politics continued to ruin the occasion. “
Mr. Joly certainly makes a valid point about China’s reasonable interest in freedom of navigation, which others have also made throughout the Red Sea crisis.Houthis publicly promised Although safe passage to ships from China, Russia, and Iran’s allies has been ensured, terrorists have not shown accurate judgment in deciding which commercial ships to attack or hijack, and China has cannot be completely dependent on ships flying the national flag for the transportation of national flags. Through the Suez Canal.
The US-owned ship Genco Picardi was attacked by a bomb-laden drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Gulf of Aden on January 17, 2024. (Indian Navy, Associated Press, File)
Nevertheless, China content This is to force the Houthis to carry out terrorist activities even as longer and more expensive alternative routes inflict significant economic damage on Chinese companies. Chinese state media has occasionally preached to Western countries to bow to Houthi demands and pressure Israel to halt its war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, saying China is the only response to regional tensions. They say the permanent solution is to give the Palestinians a state.
Houthis on Sunday claimed They caused “devastating damage” in a recent terrorist attack on a ship they described as a British cargo ship. The Houthis claimed the ship was crippled and at risk of sinking, and the UK Maritime Trade Operations Office (UKMTO) said it had received reports that the crew had abandoned the ship.
Joly said he also spoke with Wang about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during their meeting at the Munich Security Conference. In this conflict, China has not used its influence to criticize the aggressor or engage in peace negotiations.
“We need to put maximum pressure on Russia. Our sanctions are strong, but we cannot allow China to become a loophole in our sanctions regime,” Jolie reportedly told Wang.
