A bulk carrier spotted near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off Djibouti in January 2024. [Getty Images]
A bulk carrier spotted near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off Djibouti in January 2024. [Getty Images]

Saudi Arabia on Thursday (local time) announced plans to establish a 14-nation multinational maritime defense coalition to protect international shipping and energy supply routes in the Red Sea from Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

According to Reuters and DPA, the coalition will include Saudi Arabia along with fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, as well as Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan. Among GCC members, Oman and the UAE will not participate.

Saudi Arabia will play a leading role in establishing the coalition and plans to host its headquarters.

The Ministry of National Defense convened a meeting in Riyadh that day, attended by representatives of 43 countries and the EU, to discuss the coalition's formation. Kuwait's state news agency reported that Kuwaiti Armed Forces Chief of Staff Khaled Al-Shurayyan attended on behalf of Kuwait.

Saudi Arabia said the coalition aims to enhance maritime security, guarantee freedom of navigation, protect international trade routes and energy supply chains, and safeguard shared maritime interests in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden.

"Maritime security is a shared responsibility that can be ensured through joint military operations, planning, training and intelligence sharing," the Defense Ministry said, adding that "the coalition is purely defensive in nature and is not aimed at attacking any country or alliance."

Yemen's Houthi rebels declare a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia. [Yonhap]
Yemen's Houthi rebels declare a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia. [Yonhap]

Earlier, the Houthis named Saudi Arabia as responsible for airstrikes on Sanaa airport on July 20 and declared a maritime blockade against the kingdom. The Houthis have also been seeking to impose transit fees on vessels passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the southern Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, and attacked two Saudi oil tankers on July 23.

In response, Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes Friday against the Houthi-held port of Hodeidah in Yemen.

With navigation through the Strait of Hormuz already disrupted amid the war between the United States and Iran, Saudi Arabia stands to lose a critical oil export route if the Houthis also gain control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.


yckim6452@heraldcorp.com