Saudi Arabia leads a new maritime alliance

On July 30th, Riyadh hosted the founding meeting of the Multinational Maritime Defense Alliance, a new group for collective defense to “protect freedom of navigation, secure international trade routes and safeguard energy supply lines across the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.” On Thursday, Saudi Arabia designated Vice Adm. Abdullah bin Salem Alshehri as commander of the alliance.

The new group is initially composed of 14 countries that share the belief that “cross-border coordination remains the cornerstone for confronting common threats and enhancing global stability.” Because they believe that maritime security in the region is a shared regional and international responsibility, the founding members have invited other like-minded countries to join.

Saudi Arabia will lead the new organization and will host its executive institutions, including its joint command, command and control center, joint maritime operations center and a secretariat to follow up all of that.

The timing for establishing this collective security partnership could not have been more opportune. Maritime security, energy security, international shipping and global supply chains have all been disrupted or threatened throughout the region. Months of negotiations between the US and Iran have failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The Houthis, Tehran’s proxy in Yemen, have resumed attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and threatened to close the Bab Al-Mandab Strait and exact tolls there, as Iran has been trying to do in Hormuz.

The timing for establishing this collective security partnership could not have been more opportune

Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg

To avoid confusion in this highly polarized atmosphere, the new alliance was keen to stress that its goal is “purely defensive” and that its establishment is not directed against a particular state or group.

The new alliance pointedly stressed that it will conduct its activities with “full commitment” to international law and full respect for state sovereignty and freedom of navigation. These are not rhetorical platitudes but have real meaning in a region where the rule of international law has been largely violated.

Many of the threats facing maritime security today have resulted from various parties disregarding the UN Charter, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and other instruments governing international waterways. Iran and its proxies, for example, make up their own rules as they go and use force to impose them on others. Iran claims it has the right to control the Strait of Hormuz and has attacked ships using the southern channel of the strait, which Oman had made available for safe passage in its own territorial waters. Similarly, the Houthis are attacking ships crossing Bab Al-Mandab and other parts of the Red Sea.

The new alliance’s next steps will include the completion of each member’s internal procedures for approving the charter. As in other peacekeeping operations, participation in a particular mission will take place following a sovereign decision made by the interested members.

The alliance’s activities will include carrying out joint naval operations, exchanging information and intelligence, joint planning, exercises, training and building capacity.

The 14 countries that last week announced their membership of the alliance are: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Turkiye and Yemen, in addition to host nation Saudi Arabia.

Other like-minded countries have welcomed the formation of the new alliance and are considering joining

Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg

Other like-minded countries have welcomed the formation of the new alliance and are considering joining. We may recall that the Bahrain-based, US-led Combined Maritime Forces started with 12 countries when it was established in 2001 but its membership has now grown to 47.

Since the responsibility for defending these waterways is an international undertaking according to the law, the alliance plans to cooperate with other countries and organizations seeking to defend against maritime and cross-border threats.

It is therefore expected that there will be close engagement with existing outfits, especially with the Combined Maritime Forces, since the alliance’s members are also members of that grouping. There will likely be coordination with other efforts as well, such as the EU’s operations in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Gulf, and other countries operating in these waters.

The alliance will complement those efforts and could fill the existing maritime security gaps. The Combined Maritime Forces is the largest of these groups but its focus is combating illicit trade, especially arms smuggling and drug trafficking. European operations are focused on escorting ships crossing dangerous areas.

The promising Hormuz Coalition, recently established by France and the UK and joined by other countries, will take time to make a difference because its operation will be subject to Iran’s approval, which is unlikely in the near future.

By contrast, the new Saudi-led alliance has a wider mandate with immediate effect — enhancing maritime security and safeguarding globally shared maritime interests, especially international shipping and energy supply chains, in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, a combined area of about 900,000 sq. km.

It will also serve the important function of coordinating international and regional maritime efforts scattered throughout the region. They could benefit from a better division of labor and closer geographic coordination to make them more effective.

Saudi Arabia has the longest coastline on the Red Sea. Its added capacity and commitment, along with those of the other members of the new alliance, will make a significant difference in improving maritime security, especially in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, where Houthi threats are rising and serious security gaps exist in these vast bodies of water.

• Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg is the GCC assistant secretary-general for political affairs and negotiation. The views expressed here are personal and do not necessarily represent those of the GCC. X: @abuhamad1