China has said that it is seriously concerned about a rise in tensions in Yemen following the air strikes launched by the U.S. and the UK and called for all parties to exercise restraint to prevent further escalation.
Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, made the appeal at a United Nations Security Council meeting requested by Russia.
“We call on all parties, especially influential powers, to stick to the right direction of dialogue and consultation and make concrete efforts to maintain peace and stability in the Red Sea and the Middle East,” he said.
Earlier, China linked tensions in the Red Sea to Israel’s war on the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
US and UK forces launched air, ship, and submarine strikes against Yemen’s Ansarullah fighters early on Friday, allegedly targeting weapons storage, air defense, and logistic facilities.
US President Joe Biden said in a statement, “Today, at my direction, US military forces—together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands—successfully conducted strikes against some targets in Yemen used by [Ansarullah forces] to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways.”
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also confirmed that the Royal Air Force, alongside US forces, and with “non-operational support” from the Netherlands, Canada, and Bahrain, carried out the attacks on Ansarullah fighters in Yemen.
