NINE nations appeared to have joined the US Navy's 'Operation Prosperity Guardian' in Red Sea to counter Houthis rocket attacks on ships in the Red Sea to and from the Suez Canal, reports Fort Lauderdale's Maritime Executive.
The eight are the US, Britain, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain. Absent are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait and Djibouti. Egypt, the largest naval power in the Middle East and the top financial beneficiary of Red Sea-Suez shipping, is also absent.
US Secretary of Defence has announced a new coalition of the willing for the protection for maritime commerce in the Red Sea.
The US already leads a longstanding international coalition based out of Bahrain, called the Combined Maritime Forces. While American (and more recently British and French) warships have been on scene to defend shipping from airborne attacks, the other partners in CMF have been absent.
Media sources have reported a region-wide reluctance to confront Houthi rebels because of the risk of upsetting their Iranian sponsors, possibly dragging Tehran into the Israel-Hamas conflict or derailing a nascent rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
SeaNews Turkey
The eight are the US, Britain, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain. Absent are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait and Djibouti. Egypt, the largest naval power in the Middle East and the top financial beneficiary of Red Sea-Suez shipping, is also absent.
US Secretary of Defence has announced a new coalition of the willing for the protection for maritime commerce in the Red Sea.
The US already leads a longstanding international coalition based out of Bahrain, called the Combined Maritime Forces. While American (and more recently British and French) warships have been on scene to defend shipping from airborne attacks, the other partners in CMF have been absent.
Media sources have reported a region-wide reluctance to confront Houthi rebels because of the risk of upsetting their Iranian sponsors, possibly dragging Tehran into the Israel-Hamas conflict or derailing a nascent rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
SeaNews Turkey
