Canada says China has role to play in keeping Red Sea safe

Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that Beijing needs ‘to help to influence the Houthis to keep the Red Sea open’

At the Munich Security Conference, Joly and Yi also discussed Western sanctions against Russia

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Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:21am, 19 Feb 2024

Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly on Sunday said China should play a role in keeping the Red Sea safe for commerce because Chinese ships are at risk there as well, and urged Beijing to stop helping Russia sidestep international sanctions.

In an interview, Joly said she told China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a bilateral meeting on Saturday that Beijing needs “to help to influence the Houthis to keep the Red Sea open.”

“It’s in China’s interests as an exporter,” Joly told Reuters by phone on the last day of the Munich Security Conference.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday. Photo: dpa

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have staged a series of attacks in the Red Sea on commercial vessels, including the oil tanker M/T Pollux that US officials said was hit by a missile on Friday.

The attacks, which the Houthis say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, have raised the cost of shipping and insurance by disrupting a key trade route between Asia and Europe used widely by ships from China. The US and Britain have both urged China to intervene through Iran to rein in the attacks.

Joly also said she spoke to Yi about making sure that Western sanctions against Russia hold as the war in Ukraine drags on.

“We need to put maximum pressure on Russia,” Joly said. “Our sanctions are strong, but China cannot be the loophole in our sanction system.”