Saudi Arabia unveils plans for multinational maritime defence coalition

Saudi Arabia on Thursday unveiled plans for a multinational maritime defence coalition aimed at protecting international shipping and energy supply routes in the Red Sea region after attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis disrupted one of the world's busiest trade corridors.

The Saudi defence ministry said representatives from 43 countries and the European Union attended an international meeting that discussed the proposed coalition, including Saudi Arabia serving as its founding and leading state and hosting its headquarters.

The ministry said the coalition would strengthen maritime security, safeguard freedom of navigation, secure international trade routes and energy supply lines, and protect shared maritime interests in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden.

It said 14 countries, including Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Djibouti, issued a joint statement supporting the proposed coalition. Among the six Gulf Arab states, Oman and the United Arab Emirates were not listed among the countries backing the statement.

The announcement comes a day after two sources familiar with the deliberations told Reuters that Saudi Arabia was seeking to build an international coalition to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks.

The Houthis said on 20 July they would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, and have since claimed a series of attacks on Saudi-linked shipping. Saudi Arabia has responded with air strikes on what it said were Houthi military facilities in Yemen's Hodeidah used to threaten commercial shipping.

The Red Sea tensions mark the latest front in the wider Iran war, with attacks on shipping spreading beyond the Gulf and pushing oil prices higher.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, linking the southern Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, is a key maritime chokepoint for global trade and energy shipments.

The European Union launched a naval mission in the Red Sea in 2024 to help restore and safeguard freedom of navigation after the Houthis disrupted maritime traffic by attacking vessels in what they said was solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war.