U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the coalition includes Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy and the United Kingdom.
The United States announced the launch of a multinational force to protect trade in the Red Sea after at least a dozen shipping lines were grounded following attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Seychelles and the United Kingdom will be among the countries joining the 10-nation “Multinational Security Initiative,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Monday.
“Nations that seek to uphold the fundamental principle of freedom of navigation must come together to address the challenge posed by this non-state actor,” Austin said in a statement, adding that the attack “represents a call for collective action.” He said it was a problem of “being able to do something.”
The announcement came after the U.S. and British navies announced over the weekend that their destroyers shot down a total of 15 drones in the waterway.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the Iran-aligned Houthis have stepped up drone and missile attacks on ships on key shipping routes, targeting Israel and vessels believed to have ties to Israelis. There is.
Rebels said on Monday they used naval drones to attack the Norwegian-owned Swan Atlantic and MSC Clara in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The Swan Atlantic’s owner, Norway’s Inventor Chemical Tankers, said in a statement that the ship has no ties to Israel and is managed by a Singaporean company.
No injuries were reported on either ship.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a senior Houthi official and spokesman, told Al Jazeera on Monday that the Houthis would confront the US-led coalition in the Red Sea.
More countries to be included
Al Jazeera’s Sarah Khairat, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, said Egypt and Jordan, which have a vested interest in ensuring safe passage of ships, could join the coalition as additional Arab states to Bahrain. .
“It is not yet clear whether they will join later. Egypt, Jordan, and parts of the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] Countries including Saudi Arabia are part of the Joint Maritime Force, and the coalition will fall under its umbrella,” Khairat reported.
“If you read between the lines, you can see that things are very difficult for some of these Middle Eastern countries. Saudi Arabia also appears to be very close to reaching an agreement with the Houthi rebels in Yemen,” she said. added.
“Egypt does not want Israel to be seen as contradicting the Houthis’ message in the Gaza Strip to end the war in the enclave.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Monday about the issue and discussed ways to avoid further conflict.
In a statement after the call, the U.S. State Department said Blinken “condemned the continued attacks by the Houthis on commercial vessels sailing in international waters in the southern Red Sea and called on all partners to cooperate in maintaining maritime security.” said.
Austin, who is visiting Israel, is scheduled to meet in Bahrain and Qatar on Tuesday.
Companies avoid the Red Sea
At least 12 shipping companies, including major Mediterranean shipping companies from Italy and Switzerland, France’s CMA CGM and Denmark’s AP Moller-Maersk, have suspended shipping through the Red Sea due to safety concerns.
British oil giant BP on Monday became the latest company to announce it would avoid the waters.
“In view of the deteriorating security situation in Red Sea shipping, BP has decided to temporarily suspend all shipping through the Red Sea,” the company said in a statement.
“We will continue to suspend this precautionary measure under continued review as the situation in the region evolves.”
The Houthi attacks have effectively altered a significant portion of global trade by forcing cargo companies to circumnavigate Africa, imposing higher costs and delays on the delivery of energy, food, and consumer goods.
About 12 percent of world trade passes through the Red Sea, which connects to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal, including 30 percent of container traffic.