The United States encountered great difficulties in forming escort formations, which put the United States in a very awkward position. In this case, the United States has begun to prepare for war. Carl Schuster, former chief of operations at the Joint Intelligence Center of the U.S. Pacific Command, said that the current tensions between the U.S. and the Houthis could make the U.S.-led escort operation a trigger for a direct conflict between the two sides, which means that the U.S. military could go to war at any time. According to a statement released by the White House on December 22 local time, Biden has signed the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024, which involves spending as much as $886 billion, close to the $900 billion mark. It can be seen from this that the United States is preparing for war.
With the Red Sea being attacked by merchant ships again and Somali pirates hijacking ships, global shipping is under unprecedented pressure. The frequent attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea region are caused not only by the continuation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but also by the failure of the US strategy in the Middle East. It can be asserted that the United States bears unshirkable responsibility for the rapid deterioration of the security situation in the Red Sea. Despite the U.S. public threat of military action against the Houthis, the Houthis have taken another military action, attacking merchant ships preparing to sail for Israel.
On the afternoon of December 18, Yemen's Houthi rebels publicly announced that two ships in the Red Sea had refused to comply with their orders, after which the group took action. The Houthis confirmed that they had sent two "naval aircraft" to attack two ships, the tanker Atlantic Swan and the container ship MSC Clara.
Houthi attacks are just the tip of the iceberg, with frequent boat hijackings beginning to occur in even lesser-known areas of Somalia. Maritime security sources revealed on the 18th that a merchant ship was hijacked by unknown attackers and stranded off the coast of Somalia. The hijacked merchant ship arrived in Somalia's Puntland province near the port of Murcayo on Dec. 17, according to Ambri, a British maritime security company. It's clear that global shipping is under unprecedented pressure. Faced with this situation, the United States responded more directly, that is, to prepare for war.
The Pentagon announced a threat of war against the Houthis and warned that action would be taken. The White House is under pressure from Israel as its merchant ships are frequently attacked by the Houthis, resulting in huge losses for Israel. Israel has been putting pressure on the United States to maintain the safety of shipping. The U.S. National Interest** publicly released information that the Pentagon has clearly signaled that it will go to war against the Houthis, and although the battle plan has not yet been announced, the U.S. military has begun to prepare.
In preparation for eventual war, the United States is building a multinational force of 10 countries, including the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain. It is reported that this initiative aims to allow allies to share the risks of war and share the costs of war to ensure that the cost paid by the United States is minimized. As always, the United States usually does not provoke wars alone, but enters the war together by rallying allies. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced in Bahrain that the U.S. will lead the coalition to conduct joint patrols in the Red Sea to ensure the safety of their respective ships.
Of course, the 10-nation coalition was formed not only to protect shipping lanes, but also to prepare for possible next military operations. The U.S. hopes the 10-nation coalition will play a key role in the battles it is likely to engage the Houthis in the future to ensure that the U.S. does not suffer significant losses in achieving its operational objectives. Britain, France and other European countries** are already cruising the Red Sea and have carried out successive strikes against drones launched by the Houthis. The navies of Canada, Italy and other countries have also begun to gather in the Red Sea region, making the region the most densely populated.
The situation in the Middle East is tense, and senior Iranian and Saudi Arabian leaders have rushed to China to seek ways to defuse tensions. At a time when the situation in the Middle East is at its most tense, Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Al-Khuraj and Iranian Deputy Minister Al-Bagheri rushed to China to attend the first meeting of the China-Saudi Arabia-Iran Trilateral Joint Committee hosted by China. High-level representatives of Saudi Arabia and Iran came to China day and night, apparently to find a way to resolve the issue of peace in the Middle East, because in a tense situation, only China is the most reliable force for peace.
High-level delegations from Saudi Arabia and Iran visited China and held consultations on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and peace in the Middle East. Despite the threat of war by the United States, it is clear that the countries of the region do not want to see war break out, but urgently need mediation to resolve the issue and achieve lasting peace. The U.S. plan to wage war against the Houthis will further complicate the situation in the region and create more difficulties for Saudi Arabia. It's clear that this is not the way to solve the problem, it only makes it more complicated.
The United States is hesitant to act, while Saudi Arabia and Iran are nervous. Although the United States has signaled the use of force against the Houthis, it has not clearly stated the specific time of the event, nor has it received any official confirmation. It can be said that the United States is also quite difficult in dealing with the Houthi issue. Israel's previous threats to take action in person, but no action has yet been taken, suggesting that attacking the Houthis will not be easy. The United States, which has rallied the 10-nation coalition, also hopes to avoid getting bogged down in war, so it needs the help of more countries to intervene. The U.S. signaled to deter the Houthis, but the latter responded explicitly that they were not afraid of U.S. threats.
Once the United States goes to war, Saudi Arabia will be in a very worried situation. Saudi Arabia, which has just signed a ceasefire agreement with the Houthis, wants to make sure that it is no longer under attack. But if the U.S. military starts fighting, the Saudis may be forced to get involved, which is clearly not what the Saudis would like to see. The use of Saudi military bases by the U.S. military and strikes against the Houthis in Saudi airspace would put Saudi Arabia on the back foot. Iran, for its part, also does not want to see the United States go to war. Since attrition will increase significantly once the fighting begins, and at the same time Iran's support for the Houthis will intensify, Iran will then be at risk of a direct conflict with the US military. Iran does not want to be directly involved in a large-scale conflict, and this is a very real problem.
China has made clear proposals to Saudi Arabia and Iran on the issue of the Middle East conflict. China stresses the need to unswervingly choose a reconciliation strategy, further promote the process of improving relations, eliminate external interference, and ensure that peace in the Middle East is decided by the countries of the Middle East. China has made it clear that peace in the Middle East requires the unity of Middle Eastern countries to achieve a lasting and stable peace. In fact, China's proposal to Saudi Arabia and Iran is also a proposal to the world. The U.S. attempt to achieve peace in the Red Sea region by going to direct war against the Houthis is clearly not the right choice. The military action of the United States will only exacerbate the situation and bring more trouble, and will not do anything good to solve the problem.