According to the state-run TASS, the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy has confirmed that Russian warships have entered the Red Sea following isolated incidents of some Chinese and Russian vessels being attacked by Houthis.
The Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy has acknowledged that it dispatched a number of its warships via the Bab al-Mandab Strait and into the Red Sea while Houthi strikes against international shipping are still going on and the US-led military coalition is still patrolling the waterways.
According to sources in the Russian military ministry, the Russian cruiser Varyag and the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov are taking part in the patrol mission. It is not yet known, though, if other support boats are involved.
According to Bloomberg, Russia and China have struck a shipping deal with the Houthis, ensuring safe vessel transits by promising political backing at the United Nations Security Council for the group.
The warships are doing “assigned tasks within the framework of the long-range sea campaign,” according to state-run TASS. The vessels’ final destination remains undisclosed.
Earlier this month, the Varyag and Marshal Shaposhnikov took part in combined naval operations in the Indian Ocean with Iran, China, and Russia; at the time, Moscow referred to these exercises as exercising “safety in maritime economic activities.”
However, considering that the United States and the United Kingdom are presently leading a 22-nation naval coalition known as “Operation Prosperity Guardian,” the presence of Russian warships in the Red Sea makes the seas a little more “crowded.” Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and several other countries are said to have sent ships as anonymous participants. There are no signs that Moscow plans to work with the Western naval coalition’s adversaries and rivals.
Still unanswered is if Russia is deploying its warships because it fears Houthi attacks. At this point, US and UK warships—which frequently have to intercept incoming drones—as well as hundreds of commercial vessels have been assaulted. The Iranian-backed Yemeni rebel group has long stated that its objective is to block any ship that is connected to Israel, the US, or the UK, as well as to stop commercial ships from using Israeli ports.
On the other hand, the Houthis have pledged to give Chinese and Russian ships safe passage. However, as reported by foreign media, there have been isolated incidents of some Chinese and Russian vessels being attacked:
Yet, they appear to have misidentified some vessels. Missiles exploded near a ship hauling Russian oil near Yemen in late January. It happened days after a spokesman for the Houthis told a Russian newspaper that Russian and Chinese merchant ships needn’t fear attacks.
The Houthis also fired a missile at Chinese-owned oil tanker Huang Pu on Saturday, US Central Command said, highlighting continued risks to shipping in the seas off Yemen despite the agreement.
However, just one week earlier, Mohammad Abdul Salam, the top negotiator and spokesman for Yemen’s National Salvation Government (NSG), met with Chinese and Russian diplomats in Oman, where they “reached an understanding” regarding safe transit over the Red Sea and beyond.
In reaction to the Houthi strikes, Moscow and Beijing have made it clear that they oppose the Western coalition’s bombing of Yemen. For instance, China’s UN envoy Geng Shuang, and Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyansky have already criticized the US for illegally bombing the poorest country in the Arab world and failing to exert pressure on Israel to accept a diplomatic solution. Midway through February, Polyansky stated, “An immediate cease-fire in Gaza will help stabilize the situation in the Red Sea, and the de-escalation in those waters will, in turn, unblock the efforts of [UN special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg].”
“I would like to reiterate that the Security Council has never authorized any country to use force against Yemen. International law and resolutions of the council should not be subjected to misrepresentation and abuse by any country,” Shuang told the UN Security Council earlier this month.
Additionally, according to a Houthi official, “There is an exchange of knowledge and experience in various areas, as well as constant cooperation and development of relations between Yemen, Russia, China, and BRICS states.” According to TASS, “This is necessary to drown the US and the West in [the crisis] around the Red Sea, to get bogged down, weaken, and become unable to maintain unipolarity.”
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