West Asia failed to restore peace in the first month of 2025. On the contrary, the geopolitical situation deteriorated in this particular region in January. The US missiles hit the coastal area of the Red Sea in the very first week of the year, reminding the global community of the three-decade-old Gulf War. Political analysts have expressed serious concern over the development, saying that the situation would be complicated because of China’s alleged involvement in the ongoing political turmoil in the Middle East.

The Central Command of the US Military confirmed on January 4 (2025) that the US Navy attacked the Houthi rebels in Yemen with Tomahawk cruise missiles. The Tomahawk is a long-range, low-flying and subsonic cruise missile used by the US Navy and the British Royal Navy to attack land targets from ships, as well as submarines. The Central Command, which controls the US ground, air and naval forces deployed in West Asia, issued a statement, mentioning that the strike group of the Harry S Truman aircraft carrier carried out the attack from the Red Sea. Earlier, the US forces attacked the secret camps of the Zaydi Shia Islamist political and military outfit with B-2 Spirit stealth bombers. However, the Houthis did not give up.

It may be noted that the US had developed Tomahawk during the 1991 Gulf War. Defence experts consider it as one of the most dangerous US missiles and a game changer! The US forces widely used this missile, with a range of approximately 1,600km, to destroy Iraqi military bases during Operation Desert Storm (launched by the Pentagon against Iraq in the 1990s). Saddam Hussein (April 28, 1937 – December 30, 2006), the then President of Iraq, could not bear the blow. It is believed that the Tomahawk played a crucial role in his rapid decline. The US used this missile in West Asia after nearly 34 years! The Central Command claimed that the US forces destroyed arsenals of the Houthis with the help of Tomahawk missiles. However, it did not reveal the exact number of casualties.

Houthis, backed by Iran, control large parts of Yemen. They have attacked several cargo ships in the Red Sea in recent times, apart from launching rocket attacks on Israel. Their activities have prompted the US to send the Harry S Truman aircraft carrier to the Red Sea as the move has strengthened security near the most important maritime trade route.

Meanwhile, i24NEWS, an Israeli news agency, has reported that the Houthis recently struck a secret deal with China! On the basis of this deal, Beijing has started supplying arms and ammunition to the Yemeni armed group. In return, the Houthis have promised not to target any Chinese cargo or naval ships in the Red Sea. The Israeli news agency has further claimed that China is secretly providing the Yemeni armed groups with equipment and technology to build ballistic, as well as cruise, missiles. The Houthis have constructed underground bunkers where they would manufacture missiles.

Immediately after i24NEWS revealed the information, Washington DC has identified a number of Chinese arms manufacturers that supply arms to the Houthis. A top CIA official, who wished to remain anonymous, has stressed that the situation in West Asia would go out of control, if the Yemeni armed group gets stronger. Hence, the US is trying to put China under diplomatic pressure. According to sources, top Houthi leaders visited China in the summer of 2024 to discuss the secret deal. However, Beijing denied any such claim.

The Houthis have increased their activities in the Red Sea since the end of 2023. It may be noted that the Palestinian Hamas Movement attacked Israel from three directions on October 7, 2023, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu to declare a war against the outfit. The Houthis sided with the Palestinian Movement in the Israel-Hamas conflict and launched rocket attacks on the Jewish Nation. Later, the US bombarded Yemen to destroy Houthi hideouts.

Meanwhile, cargo ships are still avoiding the Red Sea because of Houthi attacks. Hence, the cost of transporting goods from Europe to Asia (and vice versa) increased by 300% in October 2024. An estimated USD 120 billion of Chinese imports and USD 160 billion of Chinese exports flow through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a strait between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula, and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa, each year, out of the estimated USD 1.5 trillion of total maritime trade. According to the Israeli news agency, China has strengthened ties with the Houthis in order to keep its markets in Europe, Asia and Africa intact. In fact, Beijing wants the Houthis to target the US, Indian, British and French cargo ships in the Red Sea.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is well aware of the fact that he could engage the US in West Asia by boosting the strength of the Houthis. It would ultimately help him to occupy Taiwan without any strong resistance. Hence, Beijing has pursued a multifaceted strategy aimed at challenging the established US-led security architecture in West Asia.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das