RIYADH: The creation of the Multinational Maritime Defense Coalition reflected international recognition of the threats facing maritime security and freedom of navigation, Saudi Arabia’s Defense ministry said on Thursday.
It also embodied a collective responsibility to protect maritime corridors and global economic interests, the ministry’s spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki, said.
His comments came after the coalition was formed last week with the aim of protecting international shipping and energy supply routes in the Red Sea region after Houthi attacks and threats.
Al-Maliki said that the region and the world were facing real and emerging threats and that every nation had the right to take whatever military or political measures it deemed necessary to protect its interests and address these threats.
He said that there was ongoing coordination among Red Sea littoral states to enhance the security of maritime corridors and safeguard shared interests.
Al-Maliki said that the Kingdom, drawing on its experience within the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, had achieved significant success in neutralizing maritime threats — including countering drones, fast attack boats and naval mines.
He said that maintaining maritime security was a collective responsibility that extended beyond littoral states to encompass all nations that benefited from the security and stability of maritime corridors.
Protecting international shipping lanes and oil tankers was a fundamental pillar of global economic stability, he said.
Al-Maliki said that terrorist acts or threats targeting maritime security impacted the entire international community, necessitating enhanced international cooperation and coordination to counter them.
