Chinese Satellite Imagery Firm Helping Yemeni Houtis Target U.S. Ships

The U.S. State Department has claimed that Chang Guang Satellite Technology company, has been assisting the Houthis in Yemen by providing satellite imagery of American ships operating in the red sea.

U.S. officials have previously expressed their concerns to the Chinese government about this issue. The response of Beijing is not known at this time.

According to a recent Financial Times article, the Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd. (CGSTL), has been providing Yemen's Houthis with satellite imagery of commercial and naval vessels in the Red Sea.

FT has been told that Trump administration officials have contacted their counterparts in Beijing "numerous times" and made them aware of CGSTL's actions. With no response from Chinese officials, U.S. decision-makers rightly concluded that the Chinese government was at least providing "tacit support" for CGSTL's exchange with the Houthis.

“The U.S. has raised our concerns privately numerous times to the Chinese government on Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co Ltd’s role in supporting the Houthis in order to get Beijing to take action,” said a senior state dep. Official, various media reported.

While Western media has been quick to blame CGSTL for delivering military level images to the Houtis, who could have obtained the images from a variety of sources with access to satellite images of the Red Sea region.  Getting high resolution satellite images one thing, but converting it to target data is another.

In addition to the satellite images, The Houtis will require to considerable technical means to position their missiles’ trajectory to hit at naval and commercial shipping.