Canadian official says China, as an exporter, needs to increase Red Sea defense efforts [Video]

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.

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 U.S. officials said was hit by a missile on Friday.

EUROPEAN UNION LAUNCHES NAVAL MISSION TP PROTECT SHIPS IN THE RED SEA FROM HOUTHIS ATTACKS

The attacks, which the Houthis say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, have raised …