US losing Red Sea battle; global repercussions to follow: Bloomberg
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A report has highlighted the Yemeni Armed Forces' growing capabilities and their success in determining naval access to strategic waterways.
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A photo shows the moment charges were detonated on the SOUNION oil tanker in the Red Sea by Yemeni special forces that planted the explosives on the vessel after its operating company violated the terms of the embargo on the Israeli regime, on August 22, 2024. (Yemeni Armed Forces/Military Media)
The Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) are leading a successful military naval campaign in support of the Palestinian people that has "arguably beaten" the United States, a Bloomberg report found.
Yemen's Ansar Allah advanced the "biggest surprise" and the "ominous" acts to the US-led global order, an expert on foreign affairs Hal Brands wrote for Bloomberg.
Yemenis have presented the "gravest challenge" to the US self-proclaimed guardianship over global trade routes in recent decades and have "arguably beaten a weary superpower along the way," Brands explained.
The Yemeni Armed Forces launched a naval campaign in support of Palestine in late 2023, hoping to establish an embargo over Israeli-affiliated ships sailing in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean.
Due to the strategic position of Yemen on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea, the country's armed forces have been able to easily limit the movement of vessels in the chokepoint. According to the Bloomberg report, traffic at the Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea has decreased by more than half, while the Israeli port of Eilat in the Gulf of Aqaba has gone bankrupt due to the operations of the YAF.
"Nearly a year on, the group appears less deterred than emboldened," Brands wrote, highlighting a recent attack they conducted against the SOUNION oil tanker.
The report also said that the US efforts to counter the support campaign since January have been "middling at best." It highlighted how the YAF, via relatively cheaper and smaller capabilities, was able to "control access to vital seas."
Adding to the effects of Ansar Allah's support campaign is a form of "strategic synergy" among US enemies.
Read more: New technologies will shock enemy on the ground: Sayyed al-Houthi
Overstretched US military avoids escalation
The US has also averted escalation in the country, due to "military overstretch", which means that the world's hegemon can no longer offer the military assets needed to project its power onto its foes.
"The core issue is that Washington has hesitated to take stronger measures... for fear of inflaming a tense regional situation," the expert said.
The Bloomberg report explained that Yemen and its allies are keeping "the showdown simmering at their preferred temperature," because the US has avoided taking stronger measures.
Moreover, the events show the "fatigue" of the US military, which lacks enough armament and military systems to engage in a larger campaign that does not compromise it elsewhere.
The issue of the Red Sea and Ansar Allah's growing strength will be an issue for whoever is elected president of the United States later this year, the report concluded.
"Whoever becomes president in 2025 will have to face the fact that America is losing the struggle for the Red Sea, with all the pernicious global implications that may follow."
Read more: Red Sea rising: Exposing the West's diminishing naval power
