http://atimes.com/2015/03/chinas-high-stakes-in-yemen-conflict/
The level of interest in Beijing on the developments in Yemen is apparently very high. This is only to be expected, arguably, considering that China depends on the Gulf countries for half of all its crude oil imports, apart from having wide-ranging relationships with the countries of the region, which have been steadily expanding and deepening. The ‘Road and Belt’ initiative gives an added strategic dimension insofar as the Silk Route passes through the Red Sea.
Indeed, China will be hard-pressed to take sides in a regional divide. This makes China a ‘stakeholder’ of sorts, especially when Yemen comes up at the UN Security Council in a matter of time.
Xinhua reported today on the current visit of the Pakistani defense delegation to Saudi Arabia, quoting Defence Minister Khawaja Asif to the effect that Pakistan “will provide all resources if there is any threat” to Saudi Arabia, but at the same time, Pakistan also seeks “an end to conflicts in the Muslim world.” The report said PM Nawaz Sharif “would be contacting the leadership of brotherly countries” (which, presumably, includes Iran as well.) The report conveys the impression that Pakistan is toeing a cautious line between devotion to its Saudi benefactor and wariness about taking sides in a sectarian strife.
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