Mock drones and missiles are displayed at a square on December 07, 2023 in Sana’a, Yemen.
Mohammed Hamoud | Getty Images
U.S. officials are planning to expand a maritime force in the Red Sea to defend against escalating attacks from the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which have impeded international shipping routes.
The Combined Maritime Forces, a 39-member international coalition, operates under the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet in Bahrain to protect maritime access and stability. A subdivision of the forces, called Task Force 153 is dedicated to the Red Sea.
“What we’re trying to do is is strengthen and bolster it, and operationalize it, in ways that perhaps it hadn’t been operationalized prior to these Houthi attacks,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday.
The expansion comes as a flood of companies pause their shipping activity along that popular Suez Canal route due to the elevated threat from the Houthis. Oil giant BP announced Monday it would temporarily suspend its shipping in the Red Sea, joining companies like shipping firms Maersk, MSC and others.
An expanded version of Task Force 153 would aim to deter further Houthi attacks as the U.S. eyes potential flare-ups of regional conflict amid the Israel-Hamas war. The U.S. has so far shot down dozens of Houthi drones heading towards commercial ships.
US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby speaks during the daily briefing in the James S Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 5, 2023.
Andrew Caballero-reynolds | Afp | Getty Images
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is currently visiting Israel, and has a series of meetings scheduled Tuesday to discuss further responses to the Houthi attacks with regional officials. Kirby said he expected more details on the Red Sea defense strategy to be announced after those meetings.
In recent weeks, Yemen’s Houthi rebel group has launched a slew of drone attacks against commercial ships crossing the Red Sea. The Iran-backed Houthis have previously warned that any ship connected to Israel is a “legitimate target” until the war in Gaza ends, and many commercial ships have been caught in the crossfire.
Austin called the Houthi strikes “reckless” and a violation of international law.
“We’re taking action to create an international coalition to address this threat,” he said Monday in Israel.