Tensions in the Indian Ocean are rising again. On the night of Monday to Tuesday, the Indian Navy announced the deployment of three destroyers and a P8I maritime patrol aircraft in the Arabian Sea, which lies in the Indian Ocean. This action aims to “maintain a deterrent presence” in response to the “recent wave of attacks in the Arabian Sea,” it said in a statement.
New Delhi also announced the deployment of a destroyer capable of firing missiles into the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Yemen, to “strengthen its anti-piracy efforts.”
Series of attacks in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean
These two sea areas are in fact particularly sensitive. In mid-December, a Maltese-flagged bulk carrier was attacked in the Gulf of Aden, while a chemical tanker was hit by a drone in the Arabian Sea on Saturday. The target ship, the MV Chem Pluto, which sails under the Liberian flag but belongs to a Japanese company, was docked at the Indian port of Bombay (west) on Monday. According to the American army, on the same day two oil tankers, one Gabonese and one Norwegian, and an American destroyer were also attacked by drones fired by the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
“Hamas is waging a psychological war” (Gershon Baskin, former negotiator)
Note that these incidents are a consequence of a series of drone and rocket attacks carried out in the Red Sea in recent weeks by the Houthis with the support of Iran, against the backdrop of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In November, an Israeli cargo ship was damaged by a drone strike in the Indian Ocean. According to the Pentagon, the Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks against 10 commercial vessels with ties to more than 35 countries. The rebels, who control swaths of Yemeni territory, including the capital Sanaa, reiterate that they will continue their attacks unless food and medicine return in sufficient quantities to the Israeli-besieged and bombed Gaza Strip.
And according to the White House, Iran, a historic ally of the rebels, would be “very involved in planning” the Houthi attacks, providing them with “sophisticated military equipment” and “intelligence support” without which the rebels are impending Yemen “should”. have difficulty recognizing and hitting the boats. “We have no reason to believe that Iran is trying to stop the Houthis from continuing their irresponsible actions […] “We know that the intelligence used by the Houthis in the maritime space is based on Iranian surveillance systems,” White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said on Friday. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron also pointed the finger at Iran in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph published on Sunday, accusing it of exerting a “very damaging influence in the region and the world.”
“We reject these claims as completely baseless” and “aimed at concealing the American government’s full support for the crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel) in Gaza,” foreign affairs spokesman Nasser Kanani responded on Monday.
Disruptions to maritime traffic
These attacks on merchant ships have serious economic consequences as they force the main companies operating on this strategic axis between Europe and Asia to take longer and more expensive routes to ensure their safety. As a reminder, around 20,000 ships pass through the Suez Canal every year, which connects the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean and handles 12% of global maritime trade.
The Red Sea placed under international protection
Given the risk of attacks, large shipping companies such as the British oil tanker BP or the shipping companies Evergreen, Maersk, CMA CGM (owner of La Tribune), Hapag-Lloyd and even MSC are now preferring to redirect their ships towards the southern tip of Africa. This results in higher fuel costs for longer voyages of two to three weeks for a tanker and one week for an average merchant vessel.
As a result, the Yemeni rebels are “attacking the prosperity and economic well-being of nations around the world,” the Pentagon denounced in early December, calling them “bandits on the international highway that is the Red Sea.” And it could get worse. On Saturday, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, warned that other shipping routes would become impassable if the war between Israel and Hamas continued. “As crimes continue, America and its allies must expect the emergence of new resistance forces and the closure of other waterways,” said the official, quoted by Iran’s Tasnim news agency. “They must soon expect that the Mediterranean, Gibraltar and other waterways will be closed to them,” he warned.
International Coalition Against Piracy
In response, the United States last week launched a coalition of now twenty countries to defend maritime traffic in the Red Sea. It brings together France, Greece, the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and the Seychelles. Spain has announced that it will not take part in the coalition, but will not oppose the participation of other European countries in the framework of a specific mission.
This military coalition “must act as a road police officer, patrolling the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to respond to (calls from) commercial boats passing through this important international route and assist them if necessary,” the port explained. – Pentagon spokesman.
So far, American President Joe Biden, who wants to prevent a regional expansion of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, has relied on deterrence, particularly by sending warships to the Middle East. But according to several American media outlets, he is now considering direct attacks against the Houthis.
(With AFP)