US, allies mull international force to prevent Houthi attacks in Red Sea

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday that the US and a number of other nations have apparently prepared an international campaign to defend commercial ships travelling the vital Red Sea route against drone and missile assaults from the Houthi-controlled portions of Yemen.

The Iran-backed Houthis have assaulted many ships during the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, causing damage to vessels and compelling various shipping companies to place their ships on hold until the security situation improves. According to the US military’s Central Command, a cargo ship reported an explosive detonating close to them in the water on Monday, about the same time as a drone and a missile attack targeted a tanker near Yemen.

According to a US Department of Defence release, Austin outlined the ways Houthi attacks are destabilising maritime security and reaffirmed US commitment to freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region’s vital waterways after calling a virtual ministerial meeting with representatives from 43 countries. Additionally, he pointed out that the attacks had already had an effect on the world economy and would still pose a threat to commercial shipping if nations failed to unite to confront the problem as a whole.

“This is an international challenge that demands collective action. Therefore today I am announcing the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, an important new multinational security initiative,” said the US Defence Secretary in a statement in Bahrain.

He had also condemned the Houthi attacks on international shipping and global commerce as unprecedented and unacceptable.

Additionally, he has denounced as unprecedented and intolerable the Houthi attacks on international trade and commerce worldwide.

The Pentagon reports that the Secretary and top DoD officials have informed participants that since November 19, the Houthis have carried out more than 100 one-way unmanned aerial system (UAS) and ballistic missile attacks, aiming or seizing 12 merchant vessels from over 35 different countries, all the while holding the crew of 25 people captive. They talked about how the attacks were blatantly against international law and demanded that they stop.

The Red Sea currently handles 10–15% of all international traffic; as a result, shipping companies are being forced to reroute through the Cape of Good Hope, which delays the supply of essential commodities like oil and gas by several weeks. In order to prevent such Houthi violence, Austin asked attendees to support international actions, including those sponsored by the US, aimed at restoring security in the Red Sea.

A senior military officer told reporters travelling with Austin in the region that at any given moment, about 400 commercial vessels are transiting the southern Red Sea, which is an area about the size of Washington, DC to Boston.

According to reports, the military ships will be stationed to offer umbrella security to as many vessels as feasible at any given moment rather than necessarily accompanying a particular one. This coincides with the announcement made by shipping giant Maersk that it will use the Cape of Good Hope to reroute ships that have been stopped for several days outside the Red Sea.

According to Austin, new members include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain. While some of those nations will work together to patrol the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, others will support intelligence operations there. China is conspicuously lacking from these discussions, and its warships in the area have not heeded requests for assistance by commercial vessels.

Combined Task Force 153, which was established in April 2022 to enhance maritime security in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, and the Gulf of Aden, will oversee the mission. The objective of the new mission is to supply ships and other assets to carry out the protection, whereas the task force has mainly provided a headquarters structure thus far.

The USS Mason and the USS Carney are two American warships that are presently transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in an effort to counter and prevent Houthi strikes. The US hasn’t struck back against the Houthis or hit their weaponry or other locations as of yet.

(with agency inputs)