Sep 25, 2026 13:38 pm IST

Opinion | Saudi Arabia's China Turn Has Begun - After Learning Much The Hard Way

Leaning on China just makes sense for the Saudis right now. The question is, can its other great 'ally' stomach it?

Aditi Bhaduri Aditi Bhaduri Columnist

Aditi Bhaduri Columnist

As Houthis intensified their attacks on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia this month, Saudis turned first to the US, their defence shield for decades, and then, more interestingly, to China. This kind of attack is unprecedented for the Kingdom. These are not attacks launched merely to unmask or to signal Saudi vulnerability. They have impacted the country's economic lifeline by targeting critical energy facilities. The main artery for Saudi oil exports since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the East-West Petroline, is now shut. The Houthis have even struck the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in an unprecedented attack. No doubt what further emboldened the Houthis is the knowledge that the decades-long war that Saudi forces waged against the Houthis starting in 2014 ended in a stalemate, requiring the UN to broker a fragile peace in 2022.

Meanwhile, even as the Houthis strike the Saudis, they have continued to gain more Yemeni territory, which includes much of Yemen's Red Sea coast from government-aligned forces. The control of Mocha and other strategic cities gives the group control over the Bab al-Mandab Strait, another key shipping lane through which 10% of all global maritime traffic passes and which has become exponentially important as the Strait of Hormuz remains dysfunctional. The Houthis are now trying to take over the Kaboub mountains, which would give them a strategic vantage point over the Red Sea coast. This advantage in asymmetrical warfare to the group, heavily backed by Iran, gives the latter added leverage in the current war, one of whose initial supporters has been Saudi Arabia.

The Mecca Pact, In Real Time

In this scenario, the Mecca Pact that was signed with such flourish in Islam's holiest city, meant to protect the Kingdom from such attacks, has been content........

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