THE UK and the us have stepped up pressure on Houthi rebels as the Yemeni movement targets commercial vessels passing through the Red Sea, disrupting a critical maritime trade route.
UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said that Britain was willing to take direct action against the Iranian-aligned group to deter threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, reports London's Financial Times.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Shapps said: 'If we don't protect the Red Sea, it risks emboldening those looking to threaten elsewhere, including in the South China Sea and Crimea.'
His comments came a day after US Navy helicopters returned fire against small Houthi boats that were attacking an AP Moller-Maersk container ship in the Red Sea, sinking three of the rebels vessels and killing the crews.
The Houthis said 10 of its members were dead or missing.
John Kirby, White House national security spokesman, said the US was not seeking a wider conflict in the Middle East or with the Houthis.
'We're going to do what we have to do to protect shipping,' he told ABC's Good Morning America show on Sunday, adding that the US had significant national security interests in the region .
'We're going to put the kind of forces we need in the region to protect those interests and we're going to act in self defence going forward,' Mr Kirby said.
The US has deployed two carrier strike groups to the region since Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel triggered the war with the Jewish state and has expanded its maritime task force to counter the Houthis assaults on shipping.
The Houthis have been targeting vessels since the war erupted.
Mr Shapps said the assaults on shipping had forced 12 international companies, including energy group BP and Maersk, to suspend passage through the Red Sea, and caused insurance costs to increase 10-fold since early December.
A UK government spokesperson said planning was under way for a range of scenarios to respond to the attacks. But the spokesperson added: 'No decisions have yet been made and we continue to pursue all diplomatic routes.'
SeaNews Turkey
UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said that Britain was willing to take direct action against the Iranian-aligned group to deter threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, reports London's Financial Times.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Shapps said: 'If we don't protect the Red Sea, it risks emboldening those looking to threaten elsewhere, including in the South China Sea and Crimea.'
His comments came a day after US Navy helicopters returned fire against small Houthi boats that were attacking an AP Moller-Maersk container ship in the Red Sea, sinking three of the rebels vessels and killing the crews.
The Houthis said 10 of its members were dead or missing.
John Kirby, White House national security spokesman, said the US was not seeking a wider conflict in the Middle East or with the Houthis.
'We're going to do what we have to do to protect shipping,' he told ABC's Good Morning America show on Sunday, adding that the US had significant national security interests in the region .
'We're going to put the kind of forces we need in the region to protect those interests and we're going to act in self defence going forward,' Mr Kirby said.
The US has deployed two carrier strike groups to the region since Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel triggered the war with the Jewish state and has expanded its maritime task force to counter the Houthis assaults on shipping.
The Houthis have been targeting vessels since the war erupted.
Mr Shapps said the assaults on shipping had forced 12 international companies, including energy group BP and Maersk, to suspend passage through the Red Sea, and caused insurance costs to increase 10-fold since early December.
A UK government spokesperson said planning was under way for a range of scenarios to respond to the attacks. But the spokesperson added: 'No decisions have yet been made and we continue to pursue all diplomatic routes.'
SeaNews Turkey