“Our message is clear: We demand an immediate end to these illegal attacks and the release of the ships and crews illegally detained”. This is what we read in one joint note from 12 countries, including Italy and the United Stateswhich denounces the “unacceptable and deeply destabilizing” attacks by the Houthis, who “will assume responsibility for the consequences if they continue to threaten human lives, the global economy and the free flow of trade in the region's waterways”.
“We remain committed to the rules-based international order and are determined to hold malign actors accountable for these unlawful attacks and kidnappings,” reads the note released by the White House from the governments of the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada , Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
“There is no legal justification for intentionally targeting civilian ships and military vessels” in the Red Sea, the 12 countries say in the statement, underlining that “attacks on vessels, including commercial vessels, using drones, small boats and missiles, including the first use of anti-ship ballistic missiles against such vessels, are a direct threat to the freedom of navigation that forms the foundation of global trade in one of the world's most critical waterways.”
“These attacks threaten innocent lives around the world and constitute a significant international problem that requires collective action. Nearly 15% of global maritime trade passes through the Red Sea, including 8% of global grain trade, 12 % of oil traded by sea and 8% of global trade in liquefied natural gas – they recall – International shipping companies continue to divert their ships around the Cape of Good Hope, adding significant costs and weeks of delays in the delivery of goods , and ultimately jeopardizing the movement of food, fuel and humanitarian assistance around the world.”
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