[Jimbuna]

Houthis strike Chinese ship in Red Sea despite safe passage assurances

The Iran-backed Houthi terror group struck a Chinese ship amidst its blockade of the Red Sea, despite previously giving assurances that Chinese vessels would be given safe passage.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, the Yemeni Houthi militia launched four anti-ship ballistic missiles into the Red Sea in the vicinity of M/V Huang Pu, a Panamanian-flagged, and Chinese-owned and operated oil tanker, US Central Command (Centcom) reported.

Soon after, a fifth ballistic missile was detected as having been fired toward M/V Huang Pu. The ship issued a distress call but did not request assistance, sustaining minimal damage with no casualties reported.

However, the attack comes just days after Chinese and Russian officials met Mohammed Abdel Salam, the Houthi spokesman, in Oman to negotiate immunity from the blockade in one of the world’s most critical trade routes.
“The Houthis attacked the MV Huang despite previously stating they would not attack Chinese vessels,” Centcom said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

China is a key economic partner to Iran, which has been heavily sanctioned for its nuclear program, rights abuses and support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It is also the biggest consumer of Iranian gas, along with Russia.

In exchange for giving Russian and Chinese ships safe passage, the Houthis were reportedly assured that they would be given support in key votes such as the UN Security Council, though publicly Beijing has called for a halt to their action in the Red Sea.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...37c683f9&ei=15