Title: The Red Sea is lively!China exclusive?The Houthis are making trouble, and global shipping is in a mess, but we in China are laughing!
Red Sea Beacon Smoke: The Houthis shake global shipping, where will the Chinese giant ship go?
Hey, military international relations fans!Today I brought you a piece of news that caught the entire shipping industry off guard, which is not only shocking, but also triggers endless thinking. It happened in the Red Sea, and the protagonists were the Houthis, and their actions this time were truly stunning.
On December 14, the Houthis launched a military operation against a container ship belonging to the Danish Maersk Line Group, hitting the ship with a suicide drone because they suspected the ship was heading for Israel, refused to board the ship for inspection, and tried to ram the Houthi patrol boat. As soon as the situation was on the verge of triggering, Maersk immediately denied the claim that it had been hit, but announced the suspension of the passage of all ships through the Red Sea route, with a deadline not yet set.
This reminds me of the scenario I had speculated about before: Will this Red Sea route become an exclusive passage for the Chinese?And all this may be happening in the near future.
You may ask, what does this have to do with us?Don't worry, take your time.
Let's start with the battle between the Houthis and Maersk. Rather than looking at the episode of a ship attack on the surface, it is actually a complex geopolitical and religious conflict in the Middle East. Why would the Houthis suspect that the ship was heading for Israel?This involves a complex game of interests in the Middle East.
Maersk and MSC are the world's top two container shipping companies, and their every move may have a profound impact on global shipping. If the vessels of the two companies were to cease the Red Sea route, they would be forced to detour the Cape of Good Hope and the west coast of Africa, directly resulting in freight rates on routes that would otherwise pass through the Red Sea**.
This is not just a matter for the shipping industry, it will affect the global economy. Routes from Asia to the Mediterranean and Europe, and from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean and Europe, are likely to be affected. Imagine that the economies of Japan and South Korea are under the threat of energy***, and the export of goods** from East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia to Europe will also rise sharply. Both global energy and food** are likely to be affected by this**.
However, crises are also often accompanied by opportunities. Looking at the top 10 shipping companies in the world, in addition to Maersk and MSC Shipping, there are also Germany's Herrobert, Japan's Ocean Network, South Korea's Hyundai Merchant Marine, and Israel's ZIM Shipping. These countries are all pro-Israel, so their ships are likely to be inspected in the Red Sea, and may even be seized or attacked.
However, we in China are different. COSCO Shipping's capacity is close to 2.9 million containers, which is strong enough and relatively safe to walk here. There is also Taiwan's Evergreen Shipping, Yang Ming Shipping's shipping capacity ranks sixth and ninth in the world, as long as Taiwan can maintain prudence on the Palestinian-Israeli issue, I believe that the Houthis will still give China some face.
Of course, this is also a reminder that the global shipping landscape may change. The United States and Israel may continue to play their little tricks, but this time, China seems to have more opportunities. The Red Sea route may really soon become the exclusive passage for us Chinese.
All this reminds me of a saying: the world is unpredictable, and opportunities always hide behind crises. In this changing moment, let's pay attention to the battle of the Red Sea route and see what the outcome will be. Stay tuned.