THE Operation Prosperity Guardian, a multinational maritime task force designed to counter Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, has not included naval forces in the Middle East.
The US Navy initially said there would be 10 countries taking part such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Bahrain, Seychelles, and Spain.
The new task force will help boost their security capabilities in the strategic waterway amid the latest wave of Houthi attacks.
However, Bahrain was the only Middle Eastern country to have joined the coalition while the largest naval powers in the Arab world such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt were missing from the list. To note, the headquarters of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command is located in Bahrain.
Most of the attacks recorded since November happened in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait which allows ships access to the Suez Canal and the shortest way between Europe and Asia. Roughly 12 percent of global trade depends on Suez Canal making it strategically important.
Several major shipping companies were forced to suspend operations passing through the strait as a result of the attacks.
Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen since 2015. The oil-rich kingdom however has ended years of diplomatic tensions with Iran through peace talks brokered by China in March.
