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Coalition targets Red Sea
Saudi Arabia and 13 other countries announced the creation of the Multinational Maritime Defense Alliance to safeguard freedom of navigation through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
“Saudi Arabia and 13 other countries have announced the creation of a maritime military coalition”
Al Jazeera said the alliance was established as a framework to strengthen collective maritime defence cooperation, with representatives of 43 countries and the European Union attending the meeting for its establishment.
The Media Line reported that Saudi Arabia will serve as the alliance’s founding and leading state while hosting its headquarters, and that the coalition is intended to protect commercial shipping, energy supply lines, and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and Gulf of Aden.
The announcement came as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis imposed a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia last week and disrupted oil shipments diverted to the Red Sea, according to Al Jazeera.
Yemen-linked attacks drive
Al Jazeera said the Bab el-Mandeb-Red Sea-Gulf of Aden route has come under repeated attack from Iran-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen, and it described the move as part of a wider conflict focused on the Strait of Hormuz.
The National said the Houthis announced a “blockade” of Saudi shipping last week and that at least one Saudi-owned tanker has been attacked, while other vessels turned around or opted for a longer, costlier route through the Suez Canal.
In response to the Houthi blockade, The Media Line reported that Saudi Arabia responded with airstrikes on what it described as Houthi military facilities in Yemen’s Hodeidah that it said were being used to threaten commercial shipping.
Al Jazeera added that Saudi Arabia’s exports have to cross Bab al-Mandeb, located between Eritrea, Djibouti and Yemen, whose western province facing the maritime chokepoint is controlled by the Houthis.
Who joins and what next
Demócrata reported that 14 states backed the defensive naval coalition in a joint statement, and it said the plan calls for drafting a statute to facilitate collaboration among the states involved in information and intelligence sharing, operational planning, joint exercises, and joint maritime operations.
“Maritime security is a shared responsibility, and cooperation and coordination among states are the cornerstone”
Al Jazeera said the door remains open for other countries to accede to the coalition’s charter after completing their national procedures, and it described the alliance as “purely defensive in nature and does not target any state”.
The Express Tribune said 51 countries and organisations were invited to the meeting, with representatives from 43 countries participating either in person or via video link, and it reported that 14 countries issued a joint statement supporting the proposed coalition.
The Express Tribune also noted that Oman and the United Arab Emirates were not listed among the countries backing the statement, while Saudi Arabia said the coalition would remain an open international defence initiative for countries that share its objectives and principles.
