Sometimes the US officials talk about China in a very confusing way. In reality, they seem to think that people cannot understand simple facts. The deputy secretary of state, Kurt Campbell, recently commented on China. Now he is about to leave his job. The comment related to how China is responding to attacks by the Yemeni Houthis on ships in the Red Sea. He said that instead of using military actions, China is using diplomacy. According to him, this action of China is strange. 

However, the bigger complexities are more severe. The US is a strong ally of Israel; they have been involved in harming innocent people for more than a year in the Gaza war. In these serious circumstances, Campbell opposes China media. He said that Chinese media information is not trustworthy when compared to the US. This shows the double behavior. The United States only aims to defend its actions and criticize the other nations for doing some things. This issue needs more focus. 

The speaker highlighted that China decided to have a direct conversation with Houthis instead of working with other nations on naval security. They informed Houthis about the locations of ships and suggested that they should target different ships. These actions of China are not secure, and it raises many serious concerns. The worry is about how China views shared international waters.

However, focusing only on one nation is not good. The US government is making efforts to create a united international naval force. Many nations refused to join US-led efforts against Houthis. 

This was not because they didn’t care about protecting shipping routes, but because they believed it was more important to prevent actions that could lead to genocide. These countries felt a moral duty to stand against such serious threats, showing that they value human rights more than military alliances.

The Yemeni Houthis are often labeled as Iranian puppets or terrorists by Western media. But their original aims are more complicated. To stop the killings of Muslims in Gaza, they have created blockades. It is the same as sanctions but is less dangerous. It is also not the same as the US sanctions in poor nations. These US-imposed sanctions took the lives of many people. However, the Houthis blockades have resulted in few casualties. They have changed from being militants to a governing group that controls much of Yemen.

However, many nations outside the United States and its allies see the fairness in the Houthis case. 

This support is one reason President Biden had difficulty creating an international naval mission in January. He could only get support from 13 countries, most of which are loyal to Washington. Japan and South Korea were likely included just to make the list look longer, while Bahrain provided local support and housing for European naval officers. This situation shows how complex things are in Yemen and the different views on the Houthis.

France has a naval base near the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, in Djibouti. This base is very close to the Chinese base. But the role of France in this area is limited. They mainly patrol to support their ships. This action is the same as China does. 

Furthermore, the French forces are working under the leadership of Rear-Admiral Emmanuel Slaars. He said they only patrol areas that are under the Houthi operations. They also escort French-flagged ships in the Red Sea. He emphasized that they do not take orders from the United States.

This shows that the US should understand that cooperation does not mean being subordinate. True partnership means respecting each other. It should not be about one nation being stronger than another. Recognizing this can help create better relationships between countries.