Operation Prosperity Guardian 'showing major cracks' amid escalations

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The War Zone
24 Dec 2023 06:36

The rifts emerging among members of the naval coalition, led by the US, are noteworthy, with several European countries refusing to deploy ships under US command.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, rear, addresses members of an international maritime task force in the Red Sea at U.S. Navy Central Command headquarters in Manama, Bahrain, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023. (AP)

Operation Prosperity Guardian, the US-led coalition ostensibly assembled to protect shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, has been "showing major cracks" in its formation according to a new report by The War Zone. Simultaneously, the recent surge in drone strikes targeting commercial vessels appears to be extending beyond Yemen's shores, reaching waters near India.

A total of 20 countries have agreed to participate in the multinational naval coalition, according to the Pentagon. However, one of the biggest issues facing this coalition is that of those 20, only a small fraction will provide actual ships or other major assets for deployment.

Many countries have agreed to send only a limited number of personnel. This poses a specific challenge, especially as Spain, Italy, and France have rejected the US request for their ships to be under US Navy command during their deployment in the operation.

According to Reuters, Spain announced that it would only agree to an operation led by NATO or the European Union. The Italian frigate Virginio Fasan will remain deployed in the area, but will not do so as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian. Meanwhile, France is still participating, but will not allow its ships to come under US command.

This is considered a major issue because these countries, all of which are members of the NATO Alliance, have highly capable ships equipped with strong air defense systems they can send but made the decision not to. As such, no matter how many countries agree to participate in the operation, this resource-intensive project will require well-equipped warships, with advanced air defense systems.

Assembling a multinational coalition is inevitably fraught with challenges. The recent developments among America's closest allies, as reported by The War Zone, are undoubtedly setbacks. This is particularly concerning as the scope of maritime confrontations between "Israel" and Ansar Allah, along with other factions of the Axis of Resistance, continues to expand.

Two Dutch soldiers, one Italian frigate for US led-coalition

After the United States announced "Operation Prosperity Guardian" in response to the operations being carried out by the Yemeni people in support of occupied Palestine and the people of Gaza, some nations have announced their contributions to the US plan, and it does not look as generous as Washington may have hoped for.

The US operation was announced under the guise of securing maritime trade routes, and the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain will be among the countries jointly working with the Pentagon under the coalition.

Calling Yemen's attacks "reckless", Lloyd Austin invited dozens of nations to take steps to address the operation and called Yemen's actions "a serious international problem" that needs "a firm international response," which, as revealed earlier, will bring "together multiple countries."

On his part, White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby said, commenting on the countries that make up the coalition, "I would let every nation who is a member, whether they wanted to acknowledge or not, speak for themselves.'

"It's a coalition of the willing and each nation has to decide for itself whether it's going to participate and under what circumstances. We respect that. The whole idea here is protecting sovereign assets and sovereign rights and that's what we're doing," he further claimed.

In response to the coalition, Yemeni Ansar Allah senior official Mohammed Ali al-Houthi announced Yemen would be targeting the vessels of countries that joined the US anti-Yemen naval coalition in the Red Sea.

"The vessels of those countries that will actively take part in the actions against us will be attacked by us in the Red Sea," Mohammed Ali al-Houthi told Al-Alam broadcaster.