“China opposes attacks against civilian vessels,” the country’ foreign ministry spokesperson has reiterated. “I believe all sides need to play a constructive and responsible role in safeguarding the security of shipping lanes in the Red Sea”, Al Jazeera reports.

China is not a member of the US-led naval coalition patrolling the contentious sea. However, as one of the world’s largest shipping countries, it has strong interests in seeing stability there, according to Al Jazeera.