Brewing Yemen Civil War and Its Implication on International Maritime Security

Abstract

Yemen civil war has been brewing for a while now, but the news of Saleh’s death came like roll of thunder, reverberating across the region. It appears that Saleh and his close associates were killed by Houthi’s for switching sides in Yemen civil war. His death has led the coalition to reconcile with Saleh’s son, Ahmed Saleh in their fight to re-capture the country’s capital and strategic ports from the Houthi’s. In addition, the escalating tension between Saudi-led coalition and Iran-backed Houthi’s has also empowered local franchises of Islamic State (IS) and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to take advantage of the conflict. However, Houthi’s are backed by Iran who is likely to increase support as all sides will now fight to gain supremacy over world’s strategic trading sea route that borders Yemeni coastal area. It appears that Iran will use Houthi’s as surrogates to gain indirect control over Bab-al-Mandab strait, a narrow chokepoint used to transits 30% of world resources, would be equivalent to its current capability to close the Strait of Hormuz, posing a threat to the international maritime security. As a result, the article evaluates, brewing Yemen civil war and its impact on the countries that use Bab-al-Mandab as their primary route.  Further, it urges the countries affiliated to the strait to strengthen their collaboration and develop a mechanism that would take into account the interest of all parties involved in the conflict. United States must learn from past conflict and theory in their approach to resolve Yemen civil war. It must seek support of European and Asian countries to establish a cohesive sea defense strategy in the West Asia to ensure safety and security of the strait.