Chinese navy's regular escort missions in the Gulf of Aden are irrelevant to the Red Sea situation, the Chinese Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

Recently, the 46th escort fleet of the Chinese Navy set sail for the Gulf of Aden to carry out its mission. There have been some foreign media reports claiming that the Chinese navy has begun to escort Chinese cargo ships passing through the Red Sea.

Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang responded in a news conference by saying that the waters of the Red Sea are an important international channel for goods and energy trade, noting that maintaining regional security and stability aligns with the common interests of the international community.

He emphasized that China has always advocated for the security of international waterways and opposes acts of harassing civilian vessels.

The spokesperson stressed that the deployment of the Chinese naval fleet to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters is "a routine escort operation and is unrelated to the current regional situation".