Saudi Arabia on Thursday held the first planning session for its proposed Red Sea maritime defense coalition which would secure the vital trading passage through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Gulf of Aden against piracy and terrorism, primarily from the Iran-backed Houthi separatists of Yemen.
The Saudi Defense Ministry said representatives from 43 nations attended Thursday’s meeting in Riyadh. Fourteen of them issued a joint statement that said they were willing to consider “joint maritime operations” in the Red Sea, including training, intelligence-sharing, and military exercises.
Saudi Arabia is particularly concerned about the safety of Red Sea shipping, and with good reason. The kingdom shifted much of its seaborne oil...
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