Chinese Satellite Imaging Firm Helping Houthis Target US Warships

Washington is now accusing China of getting in bed with the Iran-backed Shia Houthis of Yemen, who have long waged a war against Red Sea shipping, including attacks on US warships and Israel.

The US State Department on Thursday issued allegations centered on Chinese firm, Chang Guang Satellite Technology, saying it is directly supporting attacks by Houthi fighters against American interests. This firm is well-known to be close to the CCP government, and is already under Western sanctions.

“We can confirm the reporting that Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company Limited (CGSTL) is directly supporting Iran-backed Houthi terrorist attacks on U.S. interests,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told a press briefing.

The statement was issued in the wake of a Financial Times report which said the firm is supplying the Houthis with satellite imagery used in targeting. 

“The United States 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,” a US officials was quoted in the report as saying. But these warnings were reportedly “ignored”.

CGSTL has long been described as close to the Chinese government, and has been a central firm in the country’s military-civil fusion program, which requires private sector companies to provide assistance to the government when called upon. The Chinese Embassy in Washington has denied any awareness of these new allegations concerning support to the Houthis. Interestingly, public company documents present the firm’s purpose as providing “earthquake services”. 

And the state connections are clear…

According to background on the company via FT:

The Chinese company was established in 2014 as a joint venture between the provincial government in Jilin and a branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Changchun, the province’s capital.

“Chang Guang is one of a handful of ‘ostensibly’ commercial Chinese satellite companies that are in fact deeply embedded in the military-civil fusion ecosystem, supplying global surveillance capabilities to both civilian and military customers,” said James Mulvenon, an expert on the Chinese military and intelligence services at Pamir Consulting.

It previously came under US sanctions during 2023 in connection with the Ukraine war, having been accused of giving high-resolution satellite imagery to Wagner Group, Russia’s most well-known and controversial mercenary firm.

The FT report indicates that CGSTL had Chang Guang 100 satellites in orbit as of last year, and there are ambitious plans achieve 300 circling the earth by the end of 2025, which would allow for snapshots of any location on the planet each ten minutes.

If it does have a role in Yemen, this will further damage already severely strained US-China relations mid the tariff war, given the Houthis have frequently directly targeted US warships, including the carrier USS Harry S. Truman with drone and missile attacks. The USS Carl Vison carrier is about to joint the Truman in patrolling regional waters, also as tensions heat up with Iran.