China's foreign ministry said on Thursday it was deeply concerned about the situation in Yemen after Saudi Arabia launched military operations in that country.
Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that China urges all parties to act in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions on Yemen, and to resolve the dispute through dialogue.
Hua told a news conference that China hopes all parties involved will "quickly resolve the dispute through political dialogue, solve the current crisis and restore domestic stability and normality to Yemen at an early date."
She said that all Chinese people and institutions in Yemen were safe, adding that the foreign ministry and the Chinese embassy in Yemen had warned its citizens not to visit Yemen.
Yemen exports about 1.4-1.5 million barrels of Masila crude each month, mainly to China.
China's crude imports from Yemen in the first two months this year were 4.5 mln bbls, up 315 percent from the same period a year ago.
China has traditionally kept a low profile in Middle East diplomacy despite its reliance on oil imports from the region, although it is keen to demonstrate its role as a force in international politics.
Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes against Yemen and killed, at least, 25 civilians early Thursday, one day after the US-backed Yemeni president fled the country.
The military adventurism initiated by Saudi Arabia has raised fears of a conflagration, sending jitters across global markets.
Crude oil prices jumped almost six percent on Thursday after Saudi Arabia and its allies started military aggression against Yemen.
Brent crude surged $3 to trade at $59.71 a barrel. US oil rose $2 at $52.24 a barrel.
While Yemen is not a major oil producer, its location near oil trade lanes gives it a potential chokehold and stokes concerns about the security of shipments.
The Gulf of Aden has emerged as the flashpoint area in the conflict where oil tankers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq have to cross in order to get to Europe.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, nearly 4 million barrels a day of crude oil is shipped through the waters between Yemen and Djibouti known as Bab el-Mandeb.
On Thursday, most Persian Gulf stocks took a nosedive. Dubai’s index recorded its biggest loss in more than three months, tumbling 4.3 percent.
Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dropped as much as 4.2 percent before trading 1.8 percent lower. On Wednesday, it lost 5.0 percent as preparations for the military strike became evident.
The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index, a gauge of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council’s top 200 equities, slid to the lowest level since January.
“The latest tension in the Middle East adds another geopolitical risk to the market,” Warut Siwasariyanon, the Bangkok-based head of research at Asia Wealth Securities Co., told Bloomberg.
“It’s extra noise that may prompt investors to reduce their risk positions.”
Several Arab states, all of them allies of Washington, have joined the Saudi-led military offensive against Yemen.
Five Persian Gulf States -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait -- backed by the US have declared war on Yemen in a joint statement issued earlier Thursday.
US President Barack Obama authorized the provision of logistical and intelligence support to the military operations, National Security Council Spokesperson Bernadette Meehan said late Wednesday night.
She added that while US forces were not taking direct military action in Yemen, Washington was establishing a Joint Planning Cell with Saudi Arabia to coordinate US military and intelligence support.
Riyadh claimed that it has bombed the positions of the Ansarullah fighters and launched attacks against the Sana'a airport and the Dulaimi airbase.
Despite Riyadh's claims that it is attacking Ansarullah positions, Saudi warplanes have flattened a number of homes near Sana’a international airport. Based on early reports, the Saudi airstrikes on Yemen have so far claimed the lives of 25 civilians with more deaths feared, Yemeni sources said.
The Saudi aggression has received growing international condemnation.
Russia expressed “deep concern” over the worsening situation in Yemen.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the Yemen crisis could be solved only through national dialogue.
In Tehran, the foreign ministry deplored the airstrike, calling it a "dangerous" move in violation of international obligations for respecting countries' national sovereignty.
"Resorting to military acts against Yemen which is entangled in an internal crisis and fighting terrorism will further complicate the situation, spread the range of crisis and destroy opportunities to settle the internal differences in Yemen peacefully," Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said on Thursday.
She underlined the necessity for implementing national agreements among the Yemeni groups and parties as soon as possible, and called for an immediate halt to air strikes and military acts against the Yemeni people and the country.
Afkham expressed concern about the spread of extremism and strengthening terrorism, and said, "This aggression will merely result in the spread of terrorism and extremism and will spread insecurity to the entire region."
Syria said it was "deeply concerned" about dangerous developments in Yemen.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) expressed deep concern over the civilian deaths resulted from the Saudi-led air strikes on Yemen, demanding warring parties to obey the rules of war.
In a statement, the ICRC urged all sides to protect civilians and medical facilities, ensure the wounded get medical attention, and treat detainees humanely, in line with the Geneva Conventions.
"All parties involved in the current round of violence are bound by the rules governing the conduct of hostilities," said Cedric Schweizer, who heads an ICRC delegation of 300 aid workers in Yemen.
Under international humanitarian law, all countries and parties involved in the conflict must distinguish between military and civilian objects, and uphold the principles of proportionality and precaution, the ICRC said.
The independent aid agency said it had donated supplies to hospitals in Taiz and Aden, which have received dozens of wounded people in recent days.
It also provided body bags and medical supplies to three hospitals that handled casualties from suicide bombings at mosques in the capital Sanaa last week that killed more than 130 people.
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