The United States announced this Monday the creation of a new coalition to protect ships transiting through the Red Sea, at a time when Yemen’s Houthi rebels have attacked several vessels there, on the sidelines of the war between Israel and Hamas.
The announcement was made by United States Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, during a visit to Bahrain. Several vessels belonging to large shipping companies have been attacked by drones or ballistic missiles fired by Yemeni rebels, who are also fighting Israel from the south of the Middle East.
The severity of the attacks, many of which caused considerable damage to ships traveling there, led many companies to announce the suspension of routes through the Red Sea until safety is guaranteed. A stop that could soon have economic consequences, especially as the cost of transport could rise considerably.
“This is an international challenge that demands collective action,” said Lloyd Austin, in a statement released after several negotiations. “That’s why I announce the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, an important new multinational security initiative.”
In addition to the United States, countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Norway, Bahrain or Seychelles also join in this mission. Some of the countries will have the mission of carrying out joint patrols in the area, while others will have the responsibility of sharing information about what is happening in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The mission will be coordinated by Combined Task Force 153, formed in April 2022 to increase security around the site. 39 countries are present in this force, but it is not yet certain whether, in addition to those already announced, there are more nations participating in the coalition now announced. That’s why even countries like Germany, Saudi Arabia, Japan or Egypt can still join.
In an effort to anticipate the creation of this coalition, the United States deployed the ships USS Carney, USS Stethem and USS Mason to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, precisely to try to stop the Houthi attacks.
This coalition was created after three commercial ships were hit by missiles fired by Houthi rebels on December 3. These attacks came after other shots were fired at US warships in the area.
So far, the United States has not yet launched any offensive against the Houthis, limiting itself to trying to stop the attacks suffered by their ships. Now the prospect is opening up that this could happen.