A Chinese envoy on Tuesday called on all warring parties in Yemen to stop the armed conflict and return to the track of diplomatic negotiations at an early date, as the situation is on the verge of a full escalation.
China expresses deep concern over the escalating armed conflicts in Yemen and the Red Sea, said Sun Lei, charge d'affaires of China's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, at an emergency session of the UN Security Council to discuss the situation surrounding the critical Bab al-Mandab Strait shipping route.
Noting that China has always supported maintaining the respective sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Yemen and Saudi Arabia, Sun said China opposes attacks on civilian infrastructure, including energy facilities.
The Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait are important international channels for transporting goods and energy, and maintaining the normal shipping order in the relevant waters is a common international responsibility, said the Chinese envoy, emphasizing that China opposes any attack on civilian vessels, and the navigation rights of all countries' merchant vessels in the Red Sea in accordance with international law should be respected by all parties.
"The Yemen situation is on the verge of a full escalation. No matter how big the differences are, relevant sides should seek a way out with negotiations rather than gunfire. The top priority now is for all parties to exercise calm and restraint, and immediately stop the conflict," said Sun.
China supports Gulf countries in leveraging their advantages and playing a greater role in mediating the conflicts, said the Chinese envoy.
He said China stands ready to work with all parties to help keep international shipping lanes safe, end the conflicts in the Middle East, and restore security and stability in the region.
Yemen's Houthi group said on Tuesday that Saudi warplanes had carried out 52 airstrikes across five provinces over the past 24 hours, as cross-border hostilities between the two sides continued to escalate.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement that the strikes "will not go unanswered," suggesting further Houthi retaliation against Saudi Arabia.
The cross-border escalation comes amid a Houthi offensive launched on Sept. 3 that has shifted front lines along Yemen's Red Sea coast. The group captured the strategic port city of Mocha on Sept. 10 before advancing into the Bab al-Mandab area and seizing Mayun Island at the heart of the strait on Sept. 11.
Renewed fighting in Yemen has displaced at least 125,000 civilians since the start of September, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Monday.
The UN Human Rights Office has verified 40 civilian casualties -- eight dead and 32 injured in the first two weeks of this month. Women and children account for half of those killed and more than half of those injured.
Yemen's conflict erupted in late 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.
China calls for restraint, negotiations as Red Sea tensions escalate
