UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has stated that Britain is prepared to conduct additional military strikes against Houthi forces in Yemen if the situation demands.
This announcement comes amidst ongoing concerns about the safety of international shipping in the Red Sea.
During an interview with Sky News, Shapps made it clear that the UK’s involvement in further actions would depend on the unfolding events.
“That international waterway in the Red Sea should be open to international shipping. That is the international law. We got increasingly concerned that international shipping was having to reroute and adding hugely to the cost of shipping. We took the action that you saw last week and we’ve made it clear that we will wait and see what happens next. But we can’t have a situation where freedom of navigation, the ability for ships to move around the world in international waters, effectively impugned by Iranian-backed Houthis harassing that shipping.”
When asked about escalating military action, Shapps clarified the UK’s intentions. “Our intention is not to go into Yemen or anything like that, but simply to send a clear, unambiguous message to the Iranian-backed Houthis that their behaviour in the Red Sea is completely unacceptable,” he explained.
I don’t think this should in any way be surprising. The UK has been standing up against this sort of nonsense for a long time. It seems likely that the UK will continue to help protect shipping of all types for months, years and if necessary decades to come.
Fortunately, The UK still has the capability to send a message to just about anywhere in the world…