Houthis: A threat to maritime or US hegemony

The United States on Tuesday launched a multinational operation to safeguard commerce in the Red Sea as attacks by Yemeni militants forced major shipping companies to reroute, fuelling concern over sustained disruptions to global trade.

Britain, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain were among nations involved in the Red Sea security operation.

The group, widely dubbed in media reports as a task force that will conduct joint patrols in the southern Red Sea and the adjacent Gulf of Aden.

According to US this is an international challenge that demands collective action and demand other countries to contribute.

This reminds the world of a hoax call of presence of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) in Iraq.

The matter of the fact is that Houthis have stepped up their Red Sea attacks, threatening to target all ships heading to Israel and warning shipping companies against dealing with Israeli ports.

As usual the ‘dishonest media’ is playing the US mantra. The reports claim that attacks have begun to take their toll on global trade, disrupting a key trade route that links Europe and North America with Asia via the Suez Canal.

The media reports say, “The crisis resulting from the war between Israel and Hamas has pit the United States and its allies against Iran and its regional Arab proxy militias”.

On Monday the US said, “Iran was behind the Houthi attacks”, but Iran denied its involvement.

The US and its allies say that the task force aims to send a strong signal to Iran and its proxies.

The Houthis say the US-led security initiative would not deter them.

Many major Arab allies of the United States have so far declined to join the task force.

Reportedly, Bahrain's defence minister met Western counterparts to discuss maritime security, but no details are available.

According to defence experts the naval ships just could not escort all the commercial vessels, at the best the ships could be positioned in areas where they offer the greatest security benefit.

According to Reuters about 12% of world shipping traffic usually transits via the Suez Canal, the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia, passing then as well into Red Sea waters off Yemen.

Normally, about 11,800 voyages are made each month through the Suez Canal - some 393 a day.