BEIJING, January 9. /TASS/. China is ready to join forces with other countries to protect international shipping routes, Mao Ning, official representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, stated.

"China is ready to cooperate with all interested parties to secure international shipping routes," she said at a briefing, commenting on the tense situation in the Red Sea caused by the Houthi rebel movement’s attacks on merchant ships.

According to the spokeswoman, Beijing will continue to support its national enterprises in an effort to foster trade relations with other countries, including Israel.

After the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis claimed that they would launch strikes on Israeli territory and would not allow ships associated with it to pass through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until the operation in the Palestinian enclave stopped. Since mid-November, several commercial carriers and ships have been attacked in these waters from the territory controlled by the Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah (Houthis).