Why does the United States dare to sell weapons to Taiwan, but China dare not provide assistance to the Houthi armed forces? To put it bluntly, China does not sell weapons to Houthi because we do not want to participate in the situation in the Middle East. Once China intervenes in the Middle East, troubles will follow.
Speaking of the Houthi armed forces, the boy was born in 1956 and grew up in the northern province of Sadar in Yemen, where the Shi’ite Zayedites gathered. His father was a local religious leader, and from childhood allowed him to study the scriptures in the mosques. In the early 1990s, when the Houthi was not accustomed to the government’s collapse in the north and the influence of Saudi Arabia, he engaged in an organization called “young believers” with members mainly young people, focusing on protecting local culture and counter-external interference. By 2004, the organization was held by the Yemeni government in a hat of rebellion, and the army directly surrounded the Sadar Mountains.
Hussein withdrew into the mountains with his men, resisted for several months, and finally died in an air raid on September 10th, at the age of 48. His death didn't make the organization fall apart, but instead became a kindling, and his younger brother Abdul Malik took over. Abdul-Malik was born in 1979. He is also a religious background and helped his brother in his early years. As soon as civil strife broke out in Yemen in 2011, he led a team south and occupied several towns. Since then, the Houthi armed forces have transformed from local groups to armed forces, relying on Iran's support to engage in drones and missiles, and specializing in Saudi and Red Sea ships. Internationally, they are labeled as terrorist, but they control a large area of northern Yemen on their territory, and their influence has soared. The banner of these people is anti-aggression, but in practice, it will make the Middle East even more chaotic.
The matter of the United States selling weapons to Taiwan is simply an old tradition. Since the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, Washington has written the provision of defense equipment into law, with the aim of balancing the two sides of the strait and keeping the mainland of China from attacking rats. In 2024, the United States approved US$2 billion in arms sales, including advanced surface-to-air missiles, which was the first time it had been sold to high-end goods like Taiwan. Then another $385 million came in in November, and nearly 300 million yuan upgraded the data link system in December. By 2025, the backlog will pile to US$21.5 billion, and Taiwan also plans to buy 28 more sets of highly mobile rocket systems and 9 sets of national advanced surface-to-air missiles.
After Trump came to power, he heard about the 400 million aid cut, but Congress still pushed away, a new round of potential sales of 500 million has been brewing. This money not only filled the pockets of U.S. military industry, Lockheed Martin they overtime plus the production of F-16 parts, flowing water lines hot fire to the sky. More important is the strategic value, Taiwan's military strength is strong, is equal to giving the United States too many nails in Asia, Beijing wants to move to the amount. At Congressional hearings, lawmakers always take the Chinese army as an excuse, projecting satellite icons conflict points, pushing the bill to pass. This sale to the United States, a double arrow: to earn bills, to hold the opponent.
On the China side, its aid to the Houthi armed forces has been stuck, and it has not sold a single shot directly. Why? That place in the Middle East is too difficult. Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United States, and the European Union are mixing a pot of porridge and becoming targets if you are not careful. In the analysis report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, the Red Sea route is clearly drawn. The majority of China's oil imports go here, and once the traffic is blocked, the economy will plummet. Houthi was placed on the sanctions list of the United Nations Security Council, and Resolution 2216 of 2015 froze their assets and banned weapons.
China voted in favour and also donated 750,000 knives of humanitarian aid to Yemen refugees in 2009, but that was to the government, not to the militants. When the Houthi Red Sea stormed in 2024, Chinese ships escaped, and diplomats in the United Nations Hall called for a ceasefire to promote dialogue. Reportedly, China may have indirectly helped, such as buying Iranian oil and intercepting Houthi, but the official stance is a piece of iron: not allied, not selling weapons to non-sovereign entities. This principle has been settled from the "Belt and Road" era, Middle Eastern investment such as the expansion of the UAE port, relying on stable food, rolling into the chain.
The hands of the two countries are very different. The United States regards Taiwan as a chess piece in the Asia-Pacific region. Selling weapons is equivalent to betting, strengthening Taiwan's resistance, distracting Beijing, and Washington reaping the benefits. After Taiwan received the goods, the Air Force tested them at the base, simulating a sea strike, which was full of actual combat flavor. If China relents on Houthi, it will immediately bomb public opinion in the United States and Europe, impose sanctions on it, and destroy its global image.
Think about it, Houthi missiles fly in the Red Sea, and the lives of Chinese crew members are hanging by a thread. Who will bear this risk? Beijing chooses mediation, mediates the reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran in 2024, and exchanges documents and signs an agreement at a Dubai hotel. Aid to the Houthis? There are too many drawbacks, and it is not as valuable as Taiwan Province strategically. It will only lengthen the front line and distract energy. China's diplomacy is grounded and helps to talk peace, but it doesn't get involved in muddy water. This is called wise.
Speaking of the Houthi armed forces, the boy was born in 1956 and grew up in the northern province of Sadar in Yemen, where the Shi’ite Zayedites gathered. His father was a local religious leader, and from childhood allowed him to study the scriptures in the mosques. In the early 1990s, when the Houthi was not accustomed to the government’s collapse in the north and the influence of Saudi Arabia, he engaged in an organization called “young believers” with members mainly young people, focusing on protecting local culture and counter-external interference. By 2004, the organization was held by the Yemeni government in a hat of rebellion, and the army directly surrounded the Sadar Mountains.
Hussein withdrew into the mountains with his men, resisted for several months, and finally died in an air raid on September 10th, at the age of 48. His death didn't make the organization fall apart, but instead became a kindling, and his younger brother Abdul Malik took over. Abdul-Malik was born in 1979. He is also a religious background and helped his brother in his early years. As soon as civil strife broke out in Yemen in 2011, he led a team south and occupied several towns. Since then, the Houthi armed forces have transformed from local groups to armed forces, relying on Iran's support to engage in drones and missiles, and specializing in Saudi and Red Sea ships. Internationally, they are labeled as terrorist, but they control a large area of northern Yemen on their territory, and their influence has soared. The banner of these people is anti-aggression, but in practice, it will make the Middle East even more chaotic.
The matter of the United States selling weapons to Taiwan is simply an old tradition. Since the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, Washington has written the provision of defense equipment into law, with the aim of balancing the two sides of the strait and keeping the mainland of China from attacking rats. In 2024, the United States approved US$2 billion in arms sales, including advanced surface-to-air missiles, which was the first time it had been sold to high-end goods like Taiwan. Then another $385 million came in in November, and nearly 300 million yuan upgraded the data link system in December. By 2025, the backlog will pile to US$21.5 billion, and Taiwan also plans to buy 28 more sets of highly mobile rocket systems and 9 sets of national advanced surface-to-air missiles.
After Trump came to power, he heard about the 400 million aid cut, but Congress still pushed away, a new round of potential sales of 500 million has been brewing. This money not only filled the pockets of U.S. military industry, Lockheed Martin they overtime plus the production of F-16 parts, flowing water lines hot fire to the sky. More important is the strategic value, Taiwan's military strength is strong, is equal to giving the United States too many nails in Asia, Beijing wants to move to the amount. At Congressional hearings, lawmakers always take the Chinese army as an excuse, projecting satellite icons conflict points, pushing the bill to pass. This sale to the United States, a double arrow: to earn bills, to hold the opponent.
On the China side, its aid to the Houthi armed forces has been stuck, and it has not sold a single shot directly. Why? That place in the Middle East is too difficult. Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United States, and the European Union are mixing a pot of porridge and becoming targets if you are not careful. In the analysis report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, the Red Sea route is clearly drawn. The majority of China's oil imports go here, and once the traffic is blocked, the economy will plummet. Houthi was placed on the sanctions list of the United Nations Security Council, and Resolution 2216 of 2015 froze their assets and banned weapons.
China voted in favour and also donated 750,000 knives of humanitarian aid to Yemen refugees in 2009, but that was to the government, not to the militants. When the Houthi Red Sea stormed in 2024, Chinese ships escaped, and diplomats in the United Nations Hall called for a ceasefire to promote dialogue. Reportedly, China may have indirectly helped, such as buying Iranian oil and intercepting Houthi, but the official stance is a piece of iron: not allied, not selling weapons to non-sovereign entities. This principle has been settled from the "Belt and Road" era, Middle Eastern investment such as the expansion of the UAE port, relying on stable food, rolling into the chain.
The hands of the two countries are very different. The United States regards Taiwan as a chess piece in the Asia-Pacific region. Selling weapons is equivalent to betting, strengthening Taiwan's resistance, distracting Beijing, and Washington reaping the benefits. After Taiwan received the goods, the Air Force tested them at the base, simulating a sea strike, which was full of actual combat flavor. If China relents on Houthi, it will immediately bomb public opinion in the United States and Europe, impose sanctions on it, and destroy its global image.
Think about it, Houthi missiles fly in the Red Sea, and the lives of Chinese crew members are hanging by a thread. Who will bear this risk? Beijing chooses mediation, mediates the reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran in 2024, and exchanges documents and signs an agreement at a Dubai hotel. Aid to the Houthis? There are too many drawbacks, and it is not as valuable as Taiwan Province strategically. It will only lengthen the front line and distract energy. China's diplomacy is grounded and helps to talk peace, but it doesn't get involved in muddy water. This is called wise.