COLOMBO – Sri Lanka has agreed to join US’ maritime protection force to ward off mounting attacks from Yemen’s rebel Houthis on merchant shipping on the Red Sea and will deploy a navy vessel to protect the sea route at a cost of 250 million rupees every fortnight.
President Ranil Wikcremesinghe told a gathering in Colombo on Wednesday (3) that Sri Lanka has decided to deploy a ship from the Sri Lanka Navy to the Red Sea, contributing to the security of the region against Houthi activities.
Addressing Shilpa Abhimani awards at Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), he said the vessel will be deployed at a cost of 250 million rupees every fortnight, noting that shipping on the Red Sea has been disrupted due to Houthi attacks and the rerouting of ships around South Africa will indirectly increase prices of goods.
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, are a Yemeni Shi’ite political and military organization aligned with Iran. Professing support for Hamas in Gaza, Houthi fighters have stepped up attacks on a wide variety of merchant tankers heading through and towards the 18-mile-wide Bab el-Mandeb strait, after dramatically seizing the Galaxy Leader, a British-owned and Japanese-operated cargo ship, in a helicopter raid captured on video. It remains in the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.
The Bab-el-Mandeb, the Gate of Grief or the Gate of Tears, connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and by extension the Indian Ocean and is a critical waterway through which almost 15% of global trade passes.
The Houthi attacks on ships traversing the Red Sea to and from the Suez Canal and in the Indian Ocean have raised concerns about maritime security and have led to heightened tensions in the region. It has also led to fears of a fuel price rise and supply chain disruption.
According to media reports the Houthis have carried out at least 23 attacks since Dec. 19.
Wickremesinghe’s statement comes in the backdrop of a final warning issued by the United States and 12 allies to Houthi rebels on Wednesday to cease their attacks on vessels in the Red Sea or face potential targeted military action.
However, the Houthis have responded with defiance, vowing to continue targeting vessels they consider linked to Israel.
-EN/ENCL
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