Not so long ago, Yemen's Houthi rebels announced the blockade of the exit from the Suez Canal, seizing the cargo ship "Galaxy Leader", a British and Israeli businessman. This operation is considered a new battlefield in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Recently, the Houthis have sent dangerous signals to the whole West, first with a drone attack on the container ship "Jasra" owned by the German company, and then with the "Paladin" of the MSC shipping company.
The Houthis, claiming that the ships were trying to enter Israeli ports and ignoring warnings, resorted to military means. This move transformed the blockade originally directed at Israel into a blockade of the entire West, creating a rather tricky situation for the United States and the West as a whole. It is worth noting that there are complex international relations and political considerations behind this action.
The timing of the Houthis' choice is critical, as the United States and the West have already given too much in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and do not want to get involved in a new war. During his visit to Israel, U.S. Affairs Assistant Jake Sullivan mentioned the Houthis and expressed his willingness to build an "international coalition" to secure shipping routes and defend against Houthi attacks. This shows that the actions of the Houthis have aroused great concern and concern in the international community.
The United States clearly wants to unite other countries to solve the problem, but it may be difficult to achieve this in the short term. In fact, the impact of this incident on the international situation is also reflected in the adjustment of shipping routes. For example, the German companies that were attacked have announced that they are adjusting their ship routes to bypass Africa and avoid the Suez Canal. At the same time, the Danish shipping giant "Maersk Group" made a similar decision. However, bypassing Africa will add not only the cost of transportation, but also the cost of more time.
That's exactly what we mentioned on the show last November. The U.S. position appears to be an attempt to find a long-term solution, but in the short term, there may not be substantial progress on the issue.