Title: The Houthi "Rulai Shenzhang" fried freighter, China relied on shipping to eat up, this is a big head!
This has to be said to be a shocking military storm!The Houthis have learned to bombard freighters with ballistic missiles, becoming one of the most worrisome military forces in the Middle East. Immediately after the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Houthis expressed their support for the state-building cause of Hamas and the Palestinians, and they chose to show their "support" for Palestine by attacking targets in their territory and cargo ships bound for Israel.
Inexplicably, the Houthis appear to have sniped a cargo ship bound for Israel with ballistic missiles, only to turn into a farce of "indiscriminate fighting". For example, the cargo ship "Maersk Gibraltar", which was attacked on the 14th, was destined for the Moroccan port of TangierThe destination of the "Jasra", which was attacked on the 15th, turned out to be Singapore;It is also very likely that the freighter "Mediterranean Palace No. 3", which was attacked on the 16th, was not bound for Israel. This makes one wonder why most of the countries that support Israel are Western countries, especially the United States and Europe, who can go directly to Israel's western coast by sea, so why choose to go through the Indian Ocean and the Red SeaIf some ships chose this route, it was mainly to carry products from Asia to Israel, rather than large-scale aid.
However, this performance of "Divine Palm" has made China feel deep pain. After the attack on the Maersk Gibraltar, Maersk, the world's second-largest container shipping giant, announced that it would "suspend all routes through the Red Sea", which would affect "at least nine China-Europe routes". At the same time, Hapag-Lloyd in Germany also announced that it would suspend shipping through the Red Sea until next Monday, after which it will decide on the future suspension time. Considering that China-Europe shipping accounts for 92%, and the vast majority of it enters Europe through the Red Sea-Suez Canal, all this has been stirred up by the Houthi "mess fighting".
So, what can we do in the face of this problem?Perhaps it is time for the Houthis to stop attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea, because there are not many ships actually bound for Israel, and it is better to stop "killing innocents", especially those that do not really support Israel. Alternatively, we can find a diplomatic solution and work together to stop the Houthis by engaging with Russia, Iran, and others. However, such an approach could conflict with Russia's and Iran's strategic objectives, as they use it to maintain tensions in the Middle East and force the United States to make concessions in the Middle East. This makes our choice more difficult.
Some people may mention the China-Europe train, but this only accounts for 8% of China-Europe**, compared with 92% of sea freight, which is actually difficult to bear the huge pressure of China-Europe**. Moreover, the freight rate of the China-Europe train is higher, although it saves 2 3 time, but the transportation cost is "at least 3-4 times that of sea freight". More importantly, over-reliance on the overland Silk Road could increase dependence on Russia, since most of the areas through which the overland Silk Road passes are in Russia's sphere of influence. In contrast, the Maritime Silk Road mainly passes through the "high seas", and only some of the "passes" may be restricted, but this is more a matter of cost. Therefore, from the current point of view, Central Europe is still "mainly by sea, supplemented by land".
Although the Houthis are now indiscriminately attacking the "Divine Palm" and not causing substantial harm to Israel, they are costing China. However, we may have to endure this behavior for the first time. Ciling the United States to the Middle East may be beneficial to China, but we still need to be careful to find the best solution for us. This military storm has not only brought waves to the situation in the Middle East, but also triggered a chain reaction in the international community.