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US allies reluctant on Red Sea task force

Ships belonging to CMA-CGM have returned to the Red Sea following attacks by Houthi militia in Yemen, and those belonging to Maersk will do the same. (File/AFP)
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Updated 28 December 2023
Reuters
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US allies reluctant on Red Sea task force

  • US says 20 nations sign up for taskforce, but has only named 12
  • Analyst says countries concerned joining taskforce means supporting Israel
  • EU signals support, but Italy, Spain appear to distance themselves from taskforce
Updated 28 December 2023
Reuters

WASHINGTON/MADRID/ROME: US President Joe Biden hoped to present a firm international response to Yemen’s Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping by launching a new maritime force, but a week after its launch many allies don’t want to be associated with it, publicly, or at all.
Two of America’s European allies who were listed as contributors to Operation Prosperity Guardian — Italy and Spain — issued statements appearing to distance themselves from the maritime force.
The Pentagon says the force is a defensive coalition of more than 20 nations to ensure billions of dollars’ worth of commerce can flow freely through a vital shipping chokepoint in Red Sea waters off Yemen.
But nearly half of those countries have so far not come forward to acknowledge their contributions or allowed the US to do so. Those contributions can range from dispatching warships to merely sending a staff officer. The reluctance of some US allies to link themselves to the effort partly reflects the fissures created by the conflict in Gaza, which has seen Biden maintain firm support for Israel even as international criticism rises over its offensive, which Gaza’s health ministry says has killed more than 21,000 Palestinians.
“European governments are very worried that part of their potential electorate will turn against them,” said David Hernandez, a professor of international relations at the Complutense University of Madrid, noting that the European public is increasingly critical of Israel and wary of being drawn into a conflict.
The Iran-backed Houthis have attacked or seized a dozen ships with missiles and drones since Nov. 19, trying to inflict an international cost over Israel’s campaign, which followed the Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel by Hamas militants that killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostage.
The navies of the United States, Britain and France have each shot down Houthi-launched drones or missiles.
A person familiar with Biden administration thinking said the US believes escalating Houthi attacks call for an international response separate from the conflict raging in Gaza.
The Rea Sea is the entry point for ships using the Suez Canal, which handles about 12 percent of worldwide trade and is vital for the movement of goods between Asia and Europe. Houthi attacks have seen some ships rerouted around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, substantially increasing sailing time and costs.
Denmark’s giant container firm Maersk said on Saturday it would resume shipping operations in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. But Germany’s Hapag Lloyd said on Wednesday it still believes the Red Sea is too dangerous and will continue to send ships around the Cape of Good Hope.

Discord over Gaza
While the US says 20 countries have signed up for its maritime task force, it has announced the names of only 12.
“We’ll allow other countries, defer to them to talk about their participation,” US Major General Patrick Ryder told reporters last week.
The EU has signaled its support of the maritime task force with a joint statement condemning the Houthi attacks.
Although Britain, Greece and others have publicly embraced the US operation, several mentioned in the US announcement were quick to say they are not directly involved.
Italy’s defense ministry said that it would send a ship to the Red Sea following requests from Italian ship owners and not as part of the US operation. France said it supports efforts to secure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea but that its ships would remain under French command.
Spain has said it will not join Operation Prosperity Guardian and opposes using an existing EU anti-piracy mission, Atalanta, to protect Red Sea shipping. But on Wednesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he was willing to consider the creation of a different mission to tackle the problem.
Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates earlier proclaimed no interest in the venture.
Public anger over Israel’s Gaza offensive helps explain some of the reluctance of political leaders. A recent Yougov poll found that strong majorities of Western Europeans — particularly Spain and Italy — think Israel should stop military action in Gaza.
There is also the risk that participating countries become subject to Houthi retaliation. The person familiar with the US administration’s thinking says that it is this risk — rather disagreements over Gaza — driving some countries to steer clear of the effort.
That appears to be the case for India, which is unlikely to join the US operation, according to a senior Indian military official. An Indian government official said the government worries that aligning itself with the US could make it more of a target.


International support needed
In reality, many European and Gulf countries already participate in one of several US-led military groups in the Middle East, including the 39-nation Combined Maritime Forces (CMF).
The EU’s Atalanta operation already cooperates in a “reciprocal relationship” with CMF, according to a spokesperson for the group.
That means that some countries not formally joining the Red Sea maritime task force could still coordinate patrols with the US Navy.
For example, while Italy — a member of Atalanta — has not said it will join Operation Prosperity Guardian, an Italian government source told Reuters that the US-led coalition is satisfied with Italy’s contribution.
The source added that the decision to send a naval frigate as part of existing operations was a way to speed the deployment and did not require a new parliamentary authorization.
The US effort to draw international support for its Red Sea security push comes as the United States faces pressure on multiple fronts from Iran’s military proxies in the region.
Beyond the Houthis in Yemen, Iran-backed militia have been attacking US troops in Syria and Iraq.
So far, the United States has carried out limited retaliatory air strikes against the militia in Iraq and Syria, but it has refrained from doing so in Yemen.
Michael Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East under the Trump administration, said the Pentagon’s goal with the new maritime coalition appeared to be to make any future Houthi attacks an international issue in order to divorce it from the Israel-Hamas war.
“Once the military vessels in Operation Prosperity Guardian start protecting commercial shipping and come under a direct attack, (the Houthis) will be attacking the coalition, not just the US,” Mulroy said.

Topics: War on Gaza Red Sea United States of America (USA)

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Trump’s hush money case should be paused, prosecutors say

Updated 50 min 46 sec ago
Reuters
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Trump’s hush money case should be paused, prosecutors say

  • The prosecutors had asked for more time to consider next steps in the case
  • Trump pleaded not guilty in the case, which he has long portrayed as a politically motivated attempt by Bragg, a Democrat, to interfere with his campaign
Updated 50 min 46 sec ago
Reuters

NEW YORK: The case in which Donald Trump was convicted on criminal charges stemming from hush money paid to a porn star should be paused in light of his election victory to allow Trump to seek dismissal, New York prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Trump, 78, is hoping to enter office for a second term unencumbered by any of the four criminal cases he has faced and which some said would derail his 2024 candidacy to return to the White House.
The Republican Trump was convicted in May of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment his former lawyer Michael Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels for her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump, who denies it.
The case marked the first time a US president — former or sitting — had been convicted of or charged with a criminal offense.
Trump had been scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 26, but Merchan last week put all proceedings in the case on pause at the request of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.
The prosecutors had asked for more time to consider next steps in the case, citing the need to balance the “competing interests” between having the criminal case go forward and protecting the office of the president.
Trump pleaded not guilty in the case, which he has long portrayed as a politically motivated attempt by Bragg, a Democrat, to interfere with his campaign.
His defense lawyers urged Merchan to dismiss the case, arguing that having it loom over him while he was president would cause “unconstitutional impediments” to his ability to govern.
Trump’s lawyers also argued his conviction should be vacated and the charges dismissed because of the US Supreme Court’s ruling in July that presidents cannot be prosecuted over their official acts, and that evidence of their official acts cannot be used in trials over personal behavior.
Bragg’s office said that its case dealt with purely personal conduct.
Falsification of business records is punishable by up to four years in prison. Before he was elected, experts said it was unlikely — but not impossible — that Trump would face time behind bars, with punishments such as a fine or probation seen as more likely.
Trump’s victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election made the prospect of imposing a sentence of jail or probation even more politically fraught and impractical, given that a sentence could have impeded his ability to conduct the duties of the presidency.
Trump was indicted on three separate slates of state and federal charges in 2023, one involving classified documents he kept after leaving office and two others involving his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
A Florida-based federal judge in July dismissed the documents case. The Justice Department is now evaluating how to wind down the federal election-related case. Trump also faces state criminal charges in Georgia over his bid to reverse his 2020 loss in that state, but the case remains in limbo.

Topics: Trump Returns President-elect Donald Trump Hush money prosecutors Michael Cohen

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Russia’s nuclear threats ‘irresponsible’: EU’s Borrell

Updated 19 November 2024
AFP
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Russia’s nuclear threats ‘irresponsible’: EU’s Borrell

  • “It is not the first time that Putin plays the nuclear gamble,” the outgoing foreign policy chief told reporters
  • “Russia has subscribed to the principle that a nuclear war cannot be won, and so must never be fought,” he said
Updated 19 November 2024
AFP

BRUSSELS: EU top diplomat Josep Borrell accused Russia on Tuesday of issuing “completely irresponsible” nuclear threats, after President Vladimir Putin broadened the scope for Moscow’s use of atomic weapons.
“It is not the first time that Putin plays the nuclear gamble,” the outgoing foreign policy chief told reporters following defense minister talks in Brussels on the 1,000th day of the conflict.
“Russia has subscribed to the principle that a nuclear war cannot be won, and so must never be fought,” he said, warning that “any call for nuclear warfare is an irresponsibility.”
The EU talks — dominated by the need to ramp up support for Ukraine’s fight — came as Kyiv confirmed it had fired US-supplied long-range missiles into Russian territory, in what Russia said marked “a new phase” in the war.
Borrell had pressed member states ahead of time to align with Washington in allowing Ukraine to strike inside Russia using donated missiles — something France appears to be considering.
Addressing reporters afterwards, Borrell gave no indication of a shift on the sensitive issue.
But he said EU states had agreed “by an overwhelming majority” that “the fate of Ukraine will determine the destiny of the European Union.”
“If Putin could be successful in Ukraine, we will pay a very high bill, much more expensive than any kind of military support that we could provide today,” he said.
Borrell said a “big majority” of EU member states had shown “their determination to continue supporting Ukraine” — with Donald Trump’s imminent White House return throwing US support for Kyiv into question.
“Certainly we are in a different scenario with a different president in the White House, which seems to have ideas about how to end the war,” he said.
Ministers were joined by NATO chief Mark Rutte who warned that Putin must not be allowed to “get his way” in Ukraine and reiterated his call for Europe to “ramp up the defense industry.”
More than two and a half years after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, now 23 of the 32 NATO members reach the target of spending two percent of gross domestic product on defense — up from just three a decade ago.
But the growing consensus is that Europe will have to do more to make sure it can stand on its own.
Borrell said it was made clear by Rutte that given “the challenges we are facing, this landmark, this mythic figure of two-percent will not be enough, and we need to take more action.”
“Europeans have to do more and quicker in order to increase their defense capacity, not just to support Ukraine, but for our own security,” said the EU top diplomat, who hands over next month to his designated successor Kaja Kallas.

Topics: Russia-Ukraine Conflict Josep Borrell Russian President Vladimir Putin Nuclear Threat

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Ukraine hits Russia with US ATACMS missiles for first time on war’s 1,000th day

Updated 19 November 2024
Reuters
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Ukraine hits Russia with US ATACMS missiles for first time on war’s 1,000th day

  • Ukraine said it had struck a Russian arms depot around 110 km inside Russia in an attack that caused secondary explosions
  • The Ukrainian military did not publicly specify what weapons it had used
Updated 19 November 2024
Reuters
Ukraine said it had struck a Russian arms depot around 110 km inside Russia in an attack that caused secondary explosions
The Ukrainian military did not publicly specify what weapons it had used

KYIV: Ukraine used US ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory on Tuesday, taking advantage of newly granted permission from the outgoing Biden administration on the war’s 1,000th day.
Russia said its forces shot down five of six of the missiles, which were fired at a military facility in the Bryansk region. Debris of one hit the facility, starting a fire that was swiftly put out and caused no casualties or damage, it said.
Ukraine said it had struck a Russian arms depot around 110 km (70 miles) inside Russia in an attack that caused secondary explosions. The Ukrainian military did not publicly specify what weapons it had used, but a Ukrainian official source and a US official later confirmed it had used ATACMS.
President Joe Biden gave approval just this week for Ukraine to use the ATACMS, the longest-range missiles Washington has supplied, for such attacks inside Russia. Moscow has described their potential use as an escalation that would make Washington a direct combatant in the war and prompt its retaliation.
The attack took place as Ukraine marked 1,000 days of war, with weary troops at the front, Kyiv besieged by airstrikes, a fifth of Ukrainian territory in Moscow’s hands and doubts about the future of Western support as Donald Trump heads back to the White House.
Military experts say using the US missiles to attack positions at such a depth in Russia can help Ukraine defend a pocket of Russian territory it has captured as a bargaining chip, but is not likely to have a decisive impact on the course of the 33-month-old war.
Moscow has said such weapons cannot be used without direct operational support from the United States, and therefore their use would make Washington a direct participant in the war.
On Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin signed a new nuclear doctrine apparently intended as a warning to Washington. It lowers the threshold under which Russia might use atomic weapons to include responding to attacks that threaten its territorial integrity.
Washington said the update to the nuclear doctrine was
no surprise
and cited “more of the same irresponsible rhetoric from Russia.”

JITTERS IN MARKETS
Reports of the Ukrainian attack caused jitters in markets, with share indexes sliding in Europe and safe haven assets rallying.
Trump has criticized the scale of US aid to Kyiv and said he will end the war quickly, without saying how. Both sides appear to anticipate his return in two months will be accompanied by a push for peace talks, which are not known to have taken place since the war’s early months.
The warring sides have both been escalating in recent weeks in an attempt to secure a stronger position at any negotiations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Kyiv must do everything for the war to end diplomatically next year.
“At this stage of the war, it is being decided who will prevail. Whether us over the enemy, or the enemy over us Ukrainians... and Europeans. And everyone in the world who wants to live freely and not be subject to a dictator,” he said in an address to parliament on Tuesday marking 1,000 days of war.
A candle-lit commemoration was planned for later on Tuesday.
Thousands of Ukrainian citizens have died, over six million live as refugees abroad and the population has fallen by a quarter since Putin ordered the invasion by land, sea and air that began Europe’s biggest conflict since World War Two.
Military losses have been huge, although casualty figures remain closely guarded secrets. Public Western estimates based on intelligence reports say hundreds of thousands have been wounded or killed on each side.
“In the frozen trenches of the Donetsk region and in the burning steppes of the Kherson region, under shells, hail, and anti-aircraft guns, we are fighting for the right to live,” Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Syrkyi wrote on Telegram.
Tragedy has touched families in every corner of Ukraine, where military funerals are commonplace in cities and far-flung villages, and people are exhausted by sleepless nights of air raid sirens and anguish.
In the first year after the invasion, Ukrainian troops pushed Russian forces back from the outskirts of Kyiv and recaptured swathes of territory with surprise military successes against a larger and better-armed foe.
But since then, the enemies have settled into relentless trench warfare that has ground eastern Ukrainian cities to dust. Russian forces still occupy a fifth of Ukraine and for the past year they have steadily gained ground.
Kyiv now hopes to gain leverage from a sliver of territory in Russia’s Kursk region it captured after launching its first major cross-border assault in August. It says Russia has deployed 50,000 troops there to try to take it back.
In a move decried in the West as an escalation, Russia has now deployed 11,000 North Korean troops, some of whom Kyiv says have clashed with Ukrainian forces in Kursk. Zelensky said Pyongyang could send 100,000 soldiers.
Russia for its part continues to advance village by village in eastern Ukraine, claiming to have captured another settlement on Tuesday.
With winter setting in, Moscow on Sunday renewed its aerial assault on Ukraine’s struggling power system, firing 120 missiles and 90 drones in the biggest barrage since August.
Publicly there has been no narrowing of the gulf in the enemies’ negotiating positions. Kyiv has long demanded full Russian withdrawal from all occupied territory, and security guarantees from the West comparable to membership in NATO’s mutual defense treaty to prevent future Russian attacks.
The Kremlin says Ukraine must drop all ambitions to join NATO and withdraw all troops from provinces Russia claims to have annexed since its invasion.

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Donald Trump expected to consider recognizing Somaliland independence, former UK defense minister says

Updated 19 November 2024
Arab News
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Donald Trump expected to consider recognizing Somaliland independence, former UK defense minister says

  • Gavin Williamson has reportedly been lobbying Trump’s team for recognition of former British protectorate
Updated 19 November 2024
Arab News

LONDON: Donald Trump is expected to consider recognizing Somaliland as an independent country once he assumes office, according to the former UK defense secretary, it was reported on Tuesday.

Gavin Williamson, who served as Britain’s defense minister from 2017 to 2019, has reportedly been lobbying Trump’s team for the recognition of the former British protectorate.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but its status remains unrecognized by every country except Ethiopia, and it remains contentious, with Somalia claiming the territory.

Williamson, a vocal advocate for Somaliland’s recognition, has expressed optimism about progress once Trump assumes office in January, and noted that Trump’s opposition to Biden’s policies in Somalia might play a role in influencing the decision, The Independent reported.

“They should agree to it, though when he assumes office it will probably all take a little longer than we hope, but had really good meetings with his policy leads so fingers crossed,” Williamson said.

“One of Trump’s last orders as president was to withdraw troops from Somalia but then Biden countermanded that order. There is nothing that Trump hates more than someone overruling him so I used that to push the argument,” he said.

Sources in Washington told The Independent that the US State Department had “warmed up” to supporting Somaliland’s claim in the days following Trump’s victory.

Somaliland opposition leader, Abdirahman Cirro, defeated incumbent president, Muse Bihi Abdi, in an election last week, setting up a handover of power as the region continues its push for global recognition.

“I am sure this will be up for review after the inauguration. Similarly, a smooth election in Somaliland will, in addition to its other achievements, undoubtedly strengthen its case in an overall policy review,” said Peter Pham, a senior adviser in Trump’s first administration and a former US special envoy to the Sahel region.

The Trump administration previously considered recognition during his first term, and a move to do so now would increase pressure on the UK and other nations to follow suit, according to reports.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office source said: “It would be wrong to speculate on any policy decisions that the incoming administration of President-elect Trump may make.”

The source added: “The UK, alongside others in the international community, does not recognize Somaliland’s unilateral declaration of independence. It is for authorities in Mogadishu and Hargeisa to resolve Somaliland’s status through dialogue and broad consultation.”

Topics: US UK Somaliland Donald Trump

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Biggest Saudi business forum opens in Poland amid growing ties with Central Europe

Hundreds of business leaders from Saudi Arabia and Poland attend the Saudi-Polish Business Forum in Warsaw on Nov. 19, 2024. AN
Updated 19 November 2024
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Biggest Saudi business forum opens in Poland amid growing ties with Central Europe

  • 80 Saudi and 300 Polish companies take part in the Saudi-Polish Business Forum in Warsaw
  • After Warsaw, the Saudi delegation will hold the Saudi-Slovak Business Forum in Bratislava
Updated 19 November 2024
Natalia Laskowska

WARSAW: Hundreds of business leaders from Saudi Arabia and Poland gathered in Warsaw on Tuesday for the largest-ever Saudi-Polish Business Forum, highlighting the growing economic ties between the Kingdom and Central and Eastern Europe.

The forum was organized by the Federation of Saudi Chambers and the Polish Chamber of Commerce under the patronage of the Polish Ministry of Economic Development and Technology.

A Saudi delegation of more than 80 business leaders led by Hassan Al-Huwaizi, chairman of the federation, arrived in Warsaw on Monday to attend the forum and meet the top Polish leadership, including Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, and ministers of several key resorts.

They represented various branches of the Saudi economy, bringing bilateral trade exchanges beyond the sector of energy, which has traditionally dominated the ties.

“What makes this forum different is that it has many businesspeople from all economic sectors,” Saudi Ambassador Saad Al-Saleh told Arab News.

“This is actually a new thing. We believe that there are many opportunities in Poland and in Saudi Arabia, and visits like this and the forum are going to help discover these opportunities.”

The ambassador said the forum was also a part of efforts to increase relations not only with Poland — the largest economy in Central and Eastern Europe — but also the whole region.

“Everyone, when they knew about the forum, wanted to participate … from the Saudi side and from the Polish side. That shows the importance of this forum, and it will also transfer what is happening here to the rest of European countries,” he said, adding that after the Warsaw event, the Saudi delegation will travel to neighboring Slovakia for the Saudi-Slovak Business Forum in Bratislava.

The Saudi-Polish Business Council was established in August this year to boost investment between the two countries under the Kingdom’s broader strategy to deepen economic ties with Europe.

Andrzej Szumowski, the council’s chairman and vice president of the Polish Chamber of Commerce, told Arab News that it was “impossible to overestimate” the importance of the Warsaw event.

“It is an extremely crucial step in building economic relations, and it marks the beginning of full-scale relations between our two countries — social, cultural, intellectual, scientific — but everything starts with business,” he said.

“The exchange between our countries, the trade balance, is far from satisfactory. There’s about $7 billion in exports from Saudi Arabia to Poland, and $900 million in Polish exports to Saudi Arabia. I am deeply convinced that today’s meeting, which has exceeded my expectations in terms of interest from Polish companies, shows how much appeal the Saudi market has, and how much Polish companies are looking forward to the potential for exchange.”

More than 300 Polish companies are participating in the business forum, with many more expressing interest, Szumowski said, but the organizers had to limit the number due to space constraints.

The key sectors of the Saudi economy that Polish businesses are currently focusing on include construction, new technologies, agriculture, tourism, education, and manufacturing.

Polish-Saudi business relations were established in the 1990s, but bilateral ties have grown significantly in recent years, with Saudi Arabia emerging as Poland’s key strategic energy partner, supplying half of its crude oil needs.

“We are trying to develop these relations also in other sectors and for the trade to be more balanced,” said Krzysztof Plominski, vice chair of the business council and former ambassador to the Kingdom.

“Both countries are in the process of getting to know each other and building institutional solutions. A very important step was the launch of direct flights to Riyadh by Polish Airlines.”

Poland’s national flag carrier opened the Riyadh route in June, operating nonstop flights three times a week, which also contributed to growing interest in Saudi Arabia from the Polish side and vice versa.

“The current delegation organized by the Federation of Saudi Chambers comes in response to this new demand and in line with the expectations of the highest authorities of both countries,” Plominski said.

“It provides an opportunity for the business community to discuss the current situation and future plans.”

Topics: Poland Saudi-Polish Business Forum Saudi Arabia Federation of Saudi Chambers Polish Chamber of Commerce

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