The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Thursday that the USS Mason warship shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle and a ballistic missile launched by Yemen's Resistance movement, Ansar Allah.

"The USS MASON (DDG 87) shot down one drone and one anti-ship ballistic missile in the Southern Red Sea that were fired by the Houthis [Ansar Allah] between 5:45 - 6:10 p.m. (Sanaa time) [14:45-15:10 GMT] on Dec. 28," CENTCOM said on X stressing that "there was no damage to any of the 18 ships in the area or reported injuries."

The incident constituted Ansar Allah's 22nd operation according to CENTCOM since October 19.

The USS MASON (DDG 87) shot down one drone and one anti-ship ballistic missile in the Southern Red Sea that were fired by the Houthis between 5:45 - 6: 10 p.m. (Sanaa time) on Dec. 28. There was no damage to any of the 18 ships in the area or reported injuries. This is the 22nd… pic.twitter.com/Y4JRS22850

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 29, 2023

US allies hesitant to join anti-Sanaa Red Sea coalition

By forming a new marine force, US President Joe Biden sought to offer a robust international reaction to Yemen's Armed Forces attacks on vessels in the Red Sea,  but a week later, many allies refused to be affiliated with it, officially or otherwise.

Operation Prosperity Guardian, which was announced by the Pentagon, continues to be haunted by the reluctant participation of its members and uncertainty behind the operation's objectives.

Major member countries have announced stepping back or scaling down on commitment to the alliance, including France, which said it will not be operating under Washington's orders and will limit its operations to protect EU vessels, and Spain, which declared it will not participate entirely.

The Italian military ministry stated that it will deploy a ship to the Red Sea in response to requests from Italian ship owners, rather than as part of the US operation. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have previously said that they had no interest in the operation.

"Israel" has killed more than 21,000 Palestinians and some nations are not as adamant on supporting the Israeli occupation as the US may be.

Doubts over coalition's effectiveness

David Hernandez, a professor of international relations at the Complutense University of Madrid told Reuters that European leaders are "very worried" their voters will turn against them since the European public is becoming highly critical of Israeli actions. 

Shipping giants Hapag-Lloyd and Evergreen Line told CNN on Wednesday that their vessels will continue to avoid the Red Sea and sail around Africa, despite the US announcing its operation.

Many officials and maritime experts are doubting the coalition's effectiveness in facing Yemeni attacks, especially given the asymmetric warfare Sanaa is capable of engaging in, which mainly includes the extremely low financial costs of attacks - drones valued at a few thousand dollars - compared to high expenses of repelling them with high-cost interceptor missiles.

The increased risk of participating countries being targeted by the YAF along with the increased support for Palestine, particularly in Western Europe, would explain the hesitation.

A senior military Indian official also told Reuters that the government is worried about becoming a target by aligning itself with the US.

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