Supplemental Info:

Background:

A growing number of attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi militant group on ships in the Red Sea is now disrupting global maritime trade and forcing ocean carriers to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Suez Canal.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group has moved to the Gulf of Aden to join other warships converging there and in the Red Sea.

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Statement from Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III

on Ensuring Freedom of Navigation in the Red Sea

Dec. 18, 2023

The recent escalation in reckless Houthi attacks originating from Yemen threatens the free flow of commerce, endangers innocent mariners, and violates international law. The Red Sea is a critical waterway that has been essential to freedom of navigation and a major commercial corridor that facilitates international trade. Countries that seek to uphold the foundational principle of freedom of navigation must come together to tackle the challenge posed by this non-state actor launching ballistic missiles and uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) at merchant vessels from many nations lawfully transiting international waters.

This is an international challenge that demands collective action. Therefore, today I am announcing the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, an important new multinational security initiative under the umbrella of the Combined Maritime Forces and the leadership of its Task Force 153, which focuses on security in the Red Sea.

Operation Prosperity Guardian is bringing together multiple countries to include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain, to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, with the goal of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and bolstering regional security and prosperity.

View the Original:

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3621110/statement-from-secretary-of-defense-lloyd-j-austin-iii-on-ensuring-freedom-of-n/