US blockade on Iran redirects 103 commercial vessels

The U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday that, as of the day, its ongoing maritime blockade against Iran had redirected 103 commercial vessels.

The command announced the updated figures in a post on X, adding that an MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter lifts off from the flight deck of USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) as the ship enforces the U.S. blockade against Iran in the Arabian Sea.

After negotiations with Iran failed to yield any agreement earlier in the year, the United States began to take drastic measures against Iran by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints, which carries around a quarter of global seaborne oil trade and significant volumes of liquefied natural gas and fertilizers.

Protectionism does not build competitiveness, but destroys EU opportunities for digital transformation, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.

Guo made the remarks in response to a media query about reports that the Connect Europe lobby group -- representing telecoms operators -- said in an open letter on Tuesday that the European Commission's proposed Digital Networks Act and the revised Cybersecurity Act could saddle the industry with as much as 40 billion euros in replacement costs, and risk "draining the sector of the very capital needed for fiber, 5G and 6G" infrastructure.

The letter was signed by 17 senior executives from European telecoms operators, among them the chief executives of France's Orange, Germany's Deutsche Telekom and Spain's Telefonica, said the reports.

"China noticed relevant reports. According to the assessment by relevant institutions, the Act will possibly cause loss of up to over 360 billion euros in the EU within the next five years. The open letter by the European telecommunication companies is yet another example that the EU's moves will only hurt others while bringing no benefits to its own. Protectionism does not build competitiveness, but destroys EU opportunities for digital transformation, harms EU's socioeconomic development, tarnishes its open-market reputation, and dampens foreign companies' confidence in investing in the EU. We hope the EU will heed the voice of reason across various sectors and not adopt discriminatory restrictions," Guo said.