Manama: Bahrain publicly joined the US led multinational force formed to protect Red Sea from the attacks of Houthi militants, also known as Ansarullah fighters.
Houthi militants have vowed to stop all shipments and vessels’ passage towards Israel through Red Sea unless the Zionists stop the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank and other occupied territories.
In the first major target on Israel-linked ships, the Houthis or Ansarullah fighters on Nov 20, 2023 hijacked Galaxy Leader and turned it into a “tourist spot”.
They later also attacked a number of vessels and cargo ships, forcing Maersk, one of the world’s largest shipping companies, on Dec 15, 2023 to suspend passage of its vessels through the Red Sea strait.
As the Houthi attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea continued as also the Israeli bombing of Gaza, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Monday December 18, 2023 announced the formation of the multinational force.
"This is an international challenge that demands collective action. Therefore, today I am announcing the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, an important new multinational security initiative under the umbrella of the Combined Maritime Forces and the leadership of its Task Force 153, which focuses on security in the Red Sea," said Austin.
Combined Task Force 153 was set up in April 2022 to improve maritime security in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden. There have been 39 member nations in CTF 153, but officials were working to determine which of them would participate in this latest effort.
Surprisingly, Bahrain has publicly announced to join the US-led force, despite a worldwide anger over the US support – diplomatic, financial as well as through weapons, to Israel.
Bahrain is one of the few Arab countries along with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) having diplomatic and business relations with Israel.
Following the continued Israeli bombardment of Gaza that killed close to 19,000 – over 70 per cent of them children, since Oct 7, 2023, there is a huge demand from Bahrain to cut all ties with Israel.
Following a resolution passed by Bahrain Parliament in November, Israeli Ambassador in Amman was asked to leave the country. Despite its departure from the Arab State, Israel claimed that its ties with Bahrain is “strong and stable”.
Besides Bahrain the other countries that have agreed to be part of the US led multinational force in the Red Sea are the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.
According to reports, the United States is pressurising the UAE, and also Saudi Arabia, to join the Red Sea force. The two countries however have so far refused.
According to the news agency AFP, a number of other countries have also agreed to be part of the Red Sea force but prefer not to be publicly named, a defense official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss additional details of the new mission that have not been publicly announced.
Interestingly, the United States which has repeatedly blocked the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution demanding Israel to stop the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza and other occupied Palestinian territories shamelessly asked the UN forum to take action against the Houthis.
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