Recently, tensions in the Red Sea region have increasingly affected international shipping. According to CCTV News, on December 18, Eastern time, U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin announced the launch of "Operation Prosperity Guardian" in Bahrain, which will unite many countries to form a new force to protect passing merchant ships in the Red Sea from attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels.
Austin said the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain will join the United States in the new initiative. Some of these countries will organize joint patrols, while others will provide intelligence support in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
In response, Mohammed Bohedi, a member of the Houthi Politburo, told Al Jazeera on the same day that his group would counter any coalition that the United States might deploy to the Red Sea.
On December 17, local time, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (right) visited the U.S. ** Command area of responsibility in Manama.
Just hours before Austin announced the formation of the joint force, Brigadier General Yahya Salia, a military spokesman for Yemen's Houthi rebels, announced that water drone strikes had been carried out on two Israeli-linked ships passing through the Red Sea, the first being the oil-carrying Swan Atlantic and the second being the container ship MSC Clara.
The Houthis said ships bound for ports around the world "will not be harmed," except "except for those bound for Israeli ports." The group previously announced that it would try to block all ships heading for Israel and warned international shipping companies not to dock ships in Israeli ports.
In this regard, some American commentators analyzed that the US military's strike on the Houthis may not only fail to stop the latter, but also cause the Houthis to attack US military bases in the Gulf of Aden region with missiles, thus making the situation "completely out of control".
On 26 November, the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group sailed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf.
Recently, a number of ships sailing to the Red Sea and nearby waters have been attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels, and a number of international shipping companies have announced the suspension of navigation in the Red Sea.
Some analysts believe that the Red Sea is a necessary route for transportation through the Suez Canal, and the diversion of the Cape of Good Hope will not only greatly increase the transportation cost, but also extend the transportation time by 7 to 10 days. If the Red Sea security crisis threatens shipping in the Arabian Sea, the economic costs will be even greater, as one-third of the world's seaborne oil is transported through the Arabian Sea.
Source: Visual China.
*: Governor of Chang'an Street WeChat*** Reporter: Liu Xiaoyan.
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