Saudi Arabia announces start of Red Sea defence alliance: Will it work?

Saudi Arabia and 13 other countries have confirmed the creation of a maritime military coalition to safeguard freedom of navigation through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, with more nations expected to join.Bahrain, Bangladesh, the Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Turkiye and Yemen are the first to sign up.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Oman says massive oil spill reaches coastline: What damage could it do?list 2 of 3Will all-out war in Yemen reignite as the Houthis escalate attacks?list 3 of 3Yemen faces highest risk of returning to war since 2022 truce, UN warnsend of listHow significant is this alliance to the region?Here’s what we know:What has Saudi Arabia announced?On Thursday, the Saudi Ministry of Defence announced that 15 countries have signed a declaration, 13 of which have fully joined the coalition so far.On July 30, the ministry had announced the creation of the Multinational Maritime Defense Alliance as a framework to strengthen collective maritime defence cooperation.The ministry described the coalition as “an open international coalition that welcomes the accession of ...