China's COSCO suspends shipping to Israel

China’s state-owned COSCO Shipping has suspended routes to Israel, Israeli media outlets reported yesterday.

The Chinese company, the fourth largest container shipping company in the world which contributes to about 11 per cent of global trade, cited the Yemeni Houthi group’s attacks on Israel-bound ships in the Red Sea as the reason for the cessation of its activities.

Israeli financial news website Globes questioned the Chinese’s company’s decision, claiming that Beijing “is not really threatened in the Red Sea simply because it is Chinese… and because of China’s relations with Iran, the sponsor of the Houthis in Yemen.”

According to the site, the port of Haifa, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of Israel, is run by a Chinese company, which is also state-owned, noting that the port relies heavily on COSCO ships.

Yemen’s Houthis have been targeting Israel-bound ships in response to Israel’s ongoing genocidal war against the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, in which more than 22,000 Palestinians have been killed.

The two largest shipping companies in the world, MSC and Maersk, have also suspended shipping through the Red Sea since mid-December, and replaced the route with the Cape of Good Hope in southern South Africa.

On 18 December US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin announced the formation of a naval force to counter the Houthis’ attacks, however, many countries including Spain, Italy and France have withdrawn from the coalition.

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