Multinational Maritime Defense Alliance Established At Riyadh Meeting Of 43 Countries With Turkiye Pakistan Egypt Qatar Kuwait Bahrain Jordan And Djibouti Among Signatories
According to Al Jazeera, Saudi Arabia and 13 other nations have established the Multinational Maritime Defense Alliance to protect freedom of navigation through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden — the strategic maritime corridor linking the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean.
The alliance was announced after a meeting that drew representatives from 43 of 51 invited countries. Signatories include Turkiye, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Pakistan, Djibouti, Somalia, Bangladesh, Yemen, Sudan and the Comoros. An EU delegation attended the meeting, though it already operates the Aspides naval protection mission in the Red Sea. Notably, neither the UAE nor Oman signed on despite sharing similar security objectives.
Saudi Arabia is the founding member and headquarters host. Activities will include intelligence sharing, joint exercises and maritime operations. The alliance is described as “purely defensive in nature and does not target any state.” The door remains open to further accession.
The strategic urgency is clear. The Houthis imposed a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia last week, targeting oil shipments through the Red Sea. Bab al-Mandeb is only 29 kilometres wide at its narrowest point, and approximately 10 to 12 percent of global maritime trade passes through it daily.
Saudi Arabia built a coalition. The Houthis built a blockade. Both moves happened in the same week. Check out our previous coverage of the US-Iran war on The Trusted Times.
