I like how Chinese do not want to get involved in protecting vessels, despite the fact that it’s their containers on board.
Oh well, good old America has to save capitalism, yet again :)
Oh well, good old America has to save capitalism, yet again :)
If by a 'stone throw', you mean 'across the entire African continent' then yes.
Pull up a map.
Their demands were simply to restore full humanitarian aid (no bombing aid trucks!) or a ceasefire. Much easier than spending hundreds of millions in escorting every tanker headed to Suez.
CN-EU gets hurt by this. And also ME oil going to Eastern US.
No, we’d much rather the Saudis and Emiratis get their shit together.
Chinese/US trade mostly just goes directly across the Pacific.
Multipolar world my ass.
I feel like you're maybe trying to make a different point but avoiding saying it?
No, they frequently support violence when it’s internal suppression. They also support violence for e.g. taking Taiwan.
The simple answer is China can have its cake and eat it too, so why not.
I'm not sure what you're saying in your last paragraph. China have worked consistently with SA and Yemen to try to facilitate peace talks. They were opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are opposed to Israeli aggression.
China invaded and annexed Nepal (EDIT: Tibet). They’re also prominently involved in Central Asian and African politics.
> not sure what you're saying in your last paragraph
China depends on Middle Eastern oil. The Strait of Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandab closing pose an existential crisis to it. Letting America deal with the problem lets Beijing focus on messaging.
I'm not sure I agree with your last point. It feels like you're assuming that the American solution is necessary or the only way. As I said above, other actors may see it differently.
> feels like you're assuming that the American solution is necessary or the only way
No. I think a regional solution would be better. But Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are constrained by domestic politics, and everyone else with militaries in the region is an ally who would expect America to take lead or a competing oil exporter.
If the US and others weren't actively arming the Saudis then a regional solution might be easier to find.
It’s a system problem that America didn’t start. Pulling the plug on Riyadh and Jerusalem would likely lead to their collapse, plunging the region into decades of anarchy.
Amusing since most of the arms are from US manufacturers.
Iran and Russia are pumping massive quantities of armament into the region.