Italy will participate in the Prosperity Guardian mission, but the Houthis don’t give up
Houthi attacks from Yemen against commercial ships in the Red Sea and in the vital Bab al-Mandab Strait have become daily, so much so that the Pentagon has presented a multinational naval task force to counter the continuous assaults with missiles and drones. But the Houthis say they will not be deterred by retaliatory operations for the Gaza war and vow to continue attacks.
“The American-formed coalition wants to protect Israel and militarize the sea without any justification, and will not prevent Yemen from continuing its legitimate operations in support of Gaza,” Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdel-Salam wrote on X.
“Anyone who seeks to expand the conflict must bear the consequences of their actions,” Abdel-Salam said, but stressed that these operations are not intended to directly challenge powers outside the region.
The Houthis, starting a few weeks ago, have declared war on any ship headed for Israeli ports or connected to the country; however, several apparently unrelated vessels were targeted.
Abdel-Salam also stated that Oman, a neutral country, is currently engaged in mediation to safeguard navigation in the Red Sea. Interestingly, there does not currently appear to be much effort by the West to engage Tehran, which is arguably the power that has the most direct influence over the Shiite Houthi rebels.
The list of major shipping and container companies that have temporarily stopped transit through the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea is growing:
- The Italian-Swiss giant Mediterranean Shipping Company
- The French CMA CGM
- Hapag-Lloyd, Germany
- Euronav of Belgium
- the oil giant BP
- Denmark AP Moller-Maersk
- Evergreen, Taiwanese shipping company
- Frontline based in Norway
Some of these account for the majority of traffic, for example Maersk accounts for 15% of global container shipping and Frontline is one of the largest shipping companies in the world. At this point we might say: who hasn't stopped operations in these very high-risk waters, as insurance premiums and risk-related costs increase?
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday announced the launch of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a new “multinational security initiative” involving the navies of ten coalition nations that will patrol the Red Sea. “Countries that seek to uphold the fundamental principle of freedom of navigation must come together to meet the challenge posed by this non-state actor,” Austin said during a trip to Israel. We had talked about the mission a few days in advance .
The US defense chief identified the countries that will make up the coalition as follows:
Operation Prosperity Guardian brings together several countries, including the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain, to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, with l aim of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and strengthening regional security and prosperity.
Italy participates with a ship that is already in the area, the frigate FREMM, ship "Viginio Fasan"
“The Red Sea is a critical waterway for freedom of navigation and an important trade corridor that facilitates international trade,” Austin emphasized. Given that US and UK warships have already intercepted incoming drones and rockets, these allied nations are very likely to see military action in the tense waterway.
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The article Italy will participate in the Prosperity Guardian mission, but the Houthis won't give up comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/litalia-partecipera-alla-missione-prosperity-guardian-ma-gli-houthi-non-mollano/ on Wed, 20 Dec 2023 06:15:30 +0000.