China, Djibouti say all countries should enjoy freedom of navigation in Red Sea

All countries should enjoy freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, China and Djibouti said in a joint statement following a meeting of their foreign ministers in Beijing, expressing concern about the deteriorating security situation.

Djibouti sits on the other side of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait from Yemen, where Iran-backed Houthis have been battling Saudi-backed government forces and seeking to control the whole Yemeni Red Sea coast, disrupting some shipping.

In 2017, China formally opened its first overseas military base in Djibouti. The barren former French colony, which is about the size of Wales, is sandwiched between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia and also hosts US, Japanese and French bases.

The joint statement, released early on Thursday, said both China and Djibouti stressed the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the strait, and “emphasised that the right of merchant ships of all countries to exercise navigation rights in accordance with international law should be respected”.

“Both sides believe that in governing and securing the Red Sea, the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and wishes of the Red Sea littoral states should be genuinely respected, avoiding any increase in the overall security risks of the region.”

China supports the littoral states of the Red Sea in “constructively maintaining” the safety and smooth flow of international shipping lanes, said the statement, carried by China’s official Xinhua news agency.

Neither country wants regional tensions to spill further into the Red Sea, and “major powers outside the region” should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of regional countries, and avoid resorting to force and unilateral sanctions, it added.

The statement came as the US state department ordered some diplomats and family members to depart from its missions in Saudi Arabia following the escalation of the fighting in Yemen, which has opened another front ​in the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli ⁠war on Iran.