Saudi Arabia, backed by the USA, had tried to intervene and control the Yemen leadership which led to the conflict erupting in 2015 between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, lasting more than ten years, with Iran backing the Houthis in Yemen. After the peace deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia, brokered by Wang Yi, the situation de-escalated somewhat, but with the Gaza issue and the intervention of the USA in the Middle East, it flared up again with the Houthis resuming hostilities around the Gulf region.
Two cargo vessels have been struck and sunk by the Houthis in recent days, and shipping around the Gulf is facing real issues. One vessel was carrying cargoes destined for Israel. Would the USA now be about to send more aircraft carriers to the region in a show of strength as in the past? I think they have much to think about, after looking at what happened to Israeli cities hit by suspected hypersonic missiles fired by Iran. Is history in the making of the sinking of a USA aircraft carrier sooner or later?
Anonymous
China arming Iran is indirectly also arming the Houthis in time to come, with Iran now the main supporter of the Houthis. The West can make a song and dance to demonize China about it but isn't that the same as the USA and EU arming Ukraine and Israel. What works for them cannot be denied for China, right?
ReplyDeleteSure, the USA can start sanctioning more of China, since Iran is already deep in the USA's sanctions list. Better still, the USA can now completely decouple from China, a move which I believe China is taking in its stride. If China can announce that it is ready for any war with the USA, it shows it has no fear of decoupling from the USA - lock, stock and barrel. Who is in need of what from whom? Rare earth, consumer goods, raw resources are all in the hands and under control by China. China can wash its hands of doing business with USA. But can the USA afford that? Why is the USA not touting about de-coupling, only squeaking about 'de-risking'? People can deduce why the USA is backtracking on decoupling, whatever 'word salad' the USA choose to trot out.
Thankfully, China is not buying any weapons from the USA, otherwise it will be used to blackmail the Chinese. China is making its own weapons, fighter jets, aircraft carriers, missiles, satellite navigation system and does not have to depend on the USA or the West. In fact, China's domestic aviation is going to be self -reliant on just the Comac planes, with Boeing and Airbus losing market share in China going forward.
DeleteIt was reported, just recently, that the USA and its allies, Japan and South Korea had agreed to deny selling high grade bearings for China's high-speed trains, hoping to derail China's runaway HSR construction that is outshining Japan. What they failed to find out was that China had already figured out how to make high grade steel bearings comparable with imported ones from Japan and South Korea for its high-speed trains.
The USA also tried to stop the sale of commercial jet engines to China recently, but we know that China is already well versed in making its own jet engines for its fighter jets. So, what is the problem if the USA stop selling engines for Chinese planes? It just makes China more determined to make everything itself.
A little point that we failed to grasp about oil prices going down too much which is actually not good for the USA.
ReplyDeleteUSA oil rig operators needed oil to be sold above US$65 to US$70 per barrel to be feasible. So, while cheaper oil may be good for fighting inflation, if oil prices collapse below US$60, many USA oil rig operators will bite the dust and oil exploration is going to hit an iceberg.