Saudi Arabia's proposal to establish a Multinational Maritime Defense Alliance lays the groundwork for a new regional security framework aimed at countering Houthi threats to international shipping and preventing Iran and its proxies from turning the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab al-Mandab Strait into tools of political leverage and geopolitical pressure.
A study by the Red Sea Center for Political and Security Studies concluded that the initiative is not merely a temporary military arrangement to address the current escalation. Rather, it represents a broader effort to redesign the regional maritime security architecture by shifting from responding to attacks after they occur to building a collective deterrence framework led by regional states to protect commercial shipping and global energy supply routes.
Curbing Iran's Proxy
The study, prepared by Mohammed Al-Walas Bahybah, founder and chairman of the Red Sea Center for Political and Security Studies, based in Marib, links the initiative's significance to Iran's use of the Houthis in Yemen to threaten commercial vessels and oil tankers, turning the security of maritime routes into a tool of political coercion and bargaining over issues extending beyond the Yemeni conflict.
According to the study, the proposed alliance seeks to close the operational space exploited by regional powers and non-state actors to threaten maritime navigation by enhancing intelligence and operational coordination, strengthening naval capabilities, and building a deterrence framework that raises the cost of future Houthi attacks.
It says a unified regional position would undermine the narrative the Houthis use to justify targeting ships, as any future attack would no longer amount to a confrontation with a single state but rather a challenge to a collective security framework with the capacity to deter and respond.
Saudi Shift From Containment to Initiative
The study argues that the alliance reflects a shift in Saudi Arabia's approach from managing crises and containing their repercussions to shaping proactive and more sustainable security arrangements, based on the principle that safeguarding the Red Sea is a shared responsibility among its littoral states.
According to the study, the proposed framework would include 14 Arab and Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Türkiye, and Pakistan, alongside Yemen's internationally recognized government, with Riyadh serving as the alliance's headquarters.
It says bringing together countries with differing political priorities and regional interests under the common objective of protecting maritime navigation demonstrates Saudi Arabia's ability to forge broad security consensus while strengthening its role in shaping the future of collective security in the Middle East.
Yemen as a Partner in Securing Maritime Routes
The study places particular emphasis on the participation of Yemen's internationally recognized government, noting that the country's coastline overlooks both the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, while the Bab al-Mandab Strait constitutes one of the world's most vital trade and energy supply corridors.
It argues that Yemen's participation would provide an opportunity to strengthen its naval, intelligence, and operational capabilities, improve the protection of its coastline and territorial waters, and reaffirm its role as a responsible partner in the regional and international security architecture.
Joint Base on Mayun Island
The study proposes establishing a joint military base on Yemen's Mayun Island as one of the alliance's future priorities, citing the island's strategic location at the heart of the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
It concludes that a successful alliance would usher in a new era of "regional maritime deterrence," sending a message to the Houthis and their backers that the security of international trade and global energy supplies is no longer open to political bargaining or the imposition of faits accomplis through force.
