British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps in a Telegraph newspaper article stressed the need to protect the Red Sea from Houthi attacks, warning of the substantial losses caused by this crisis.
Shapps stated that the situation in the Red Sea is very serious, emphasizing that "despite being thousands of miles away from our country, it affects everyone in Britain."
He considered the crisis "a test for the international community, as failure to protect the Red Sea will encourage those looking to threaten elsewhere, including the South China Sea and the Crimean Peninsula."
"We need to stand firmly with our allies and our principles, and with the innocent people caught up in these events," he added.
Shapps mentioned that 12 international companies were forced to suspend their passage through the Red Sea, including "British Petroleum" and shipping giant "Maersk".
He noted that container ships, as well as oil and chemical tankers, now have to take a 5000-mile detour around the continent of Africa to reach Europe and other destinations.
The minister warned that this causes significant delay and disruption to global supply chains, as well as increased store prices, due to shipping insurance costs having increased tenfold since the beginning of the previous month.
Sailors in Danger
Shapps pointed out that Houthi attacks – which increased by 500% from November to December last year – endanger the lives of innocent sailors, exacerbate the humanitarian suffering in Yemen, and destabilize the broader region.
"The city of London hosts the International Maritime Organization, meaning we play a leading role in international maritime security, and we will continue to condemn illegal and unjustifiable attacks on commercial vessels in the strongest terms," said the minister.
Shapps also referenced the UK’s involvement in an international force in the region, which includes the United States, called the "Guardian of Prosperity Coalition" to ensure freedom of navigation in the area.
The British minister warned that the Houthis have recruited thousands of tribal fighters to form a popular army in preparation for a potential conflict with Israel.
He spoke of a British warship earlier last month having shot down a drone targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea, which marked the first time in over 30 years that the British naval fleet had downed an aerial target.
The destroyer "HMS Diamond," which launched a Sea Viper missile to destroy the drone, was sent to the Red Sea to bolster international efforts aimed at keeping one of the world's most crucial waterways open, according to the writer.
