Ships ‘declaring links to China or Russia’ to avoid Houthi attacks in Red Sea

Dr Tobias Borck, a Middle East expert at the London-based RUSI think-tank, told i: “How they come to determinations of whether ships are tied to Israel is anyone’s guess. In some instances, the connection between ships that were attacked and Israel was highly tangential at best, non-existent at worst. So ultimately, anyone sending ships through the strait and the Red Sea currently has to determine whether they are confident enough that the Houthis won’t find some connection, real or imagined – or simply make a mistake. That goes for China and Russia just as much as for Brazil or Japan.”