What has long been regarded as a nuisance in the Red Sea escalated in recent days to a serious economic risk for global shipping supply lines and the world economy.

Houthi rebels, also known as Ansar Allah, have been attacking container ships with drones and missiles with such frequency that four of the five largest shipping companies in the world have ‘paused’ the route, diverting down along the Cape of Good Hope. This has reduced shipping traffic in the Red Sea by 35 per cent, although that will drop further over the next few weeks.

If you are wondering who the Houthi are, their slogan is reasonably self-explanatory. God is the Greatest. Death to America. Death to Israel. A Curse Upon the Jews. Victory to Islam.

Weirdly, they did not sign off with, Religion of Peace as one might expect if you have learned history from a Western university and its crucible of Marxist revisionism.

The Yemen-based rebels are friends with all the wrong people: dodgy states, terror groups, and every tin-pot dictator they can find. They have been riding the wave of rebellious ‘liberty’ dusted with some old-fashioned racism, bigotry, and lashings of violent anti-LGBT hatred (just in case you’re wearing a rainbow flag and thinking of starting a Houthi ‘From the Canal to the Sea!’ movement on campus). Their civil war in Yemen has been responsible for the deaths of 377,000 people with 85,000 children dying of starvation between 2015-18, not that anyone is marching in Western cities in protest. Islamic forces killing Islamic people doesn’t fit any particular activist narrative and so it is quietly ignored.

In the past week, the Houthi navy – propped up by Iran – has been taking potshots at container ships.

Their behaviour has been labelled a ‘flagrant breach of international law’ by the International Chamber of Shipping. In reality, the Houthi are being used by Iran and its larger communist allies to upset Western powers who will, in turn, pressure Israel to cease its retaliatory attacks against Hamas. That is why the Houthi are loudly and repeatedly blaming Israel for their campaign of terror against global shipping despite targeting ships practically at random.

Houthi rebels are pretending their actions have something to do with protesting Israel’s ruthless eradication of terrorists from Gaza following the horrific attacks in October initiated by Hamas – who are still holding hostages. Such Houthi propaganda does not explain why these die-hard Islamic fighters have been destroying whatever they can find floating around for decades.

As part of this ‘solidarity with Palestine’ the Houthi attacked a vessel owned by the Norwegians – which has no link to Israel or Gaza given it is managed by a Singaporean firm, according to the owner. In other words, Gaza is being used to justify their love of destruction and a major regional power shift. All the better for Iran. Their regime is keen to see the West thrown into a state of chaos while their friends in large communist nations plot further military unrest. What happens if China pulls a similar stunt on Pacific trade lines wrapping around Taiwan?

The Houthi rebels are formidable enough to pose a threat, using missiles, heavy weapons, helicopters, and drones to attack ships.

This is a problem for Australia which, through a series of self-inflicted idiotic decisions by successive governments, has left Australia reliant on fuel shipped along the Red Sea supply line from the oil barons in the Middle East. BP are the most recent company to suspend transport through the area, joining many European counterparts who find the risk to be unacceptable.

It’s not only Australia in trouble. 12 per cent of the world’s trade squeezes its way through these hostile waters in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait at the bottom of Yemen with Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea on the other side, which might explain why the response has been the creation of a naval coalition headed by America. Egypt will be a particular point of political unrest, as their gateway to the world is interrupted forcing the nation to play some hard and fast politics with both Iran and the West.

As a side note, Somali pirates are still attacking ships in the area with commentary printed in the Maritime Executive stressing that although they are back on the seas, ‘a full-scale return is unlikely’. While they may not resurrect their marauding days, the Somali pirates are capitalising on the general situation of unrest to pick off softer targets.

Shipping companies have been left with no choice but to divert supply lines around the old trade routes at the bottom of Africa, in a return to the Age of Sail. These re-directions are estimated to add 15 per cent to the cost of transport and add more than a week to arrival times. It’s not impossible to achieve, but it is a situation that is expected to push the price of oil and gas up, something that has already begun.

In retaliation for the inconvenience, 10 navies are preparing to storm in and put an end to the Houthi reign of annoyance. America, Canada, France, the UK, Norway, Spain, Bahrain, Seychelles, and the Netherlands will send military assets in what they are calling a ‘multinational security initiative’.

The statement released by US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said: ‘Countries that seek to uphold the foundational principle of freedom of navigation must come together to tackle the challenge posed by this non-state actor.’

America wants Australia to send a warship but … we probably don’t have any spare.

If anything is likely to spark a serious war, it could be this, as the world’s navies send ships to firm up protection along Red Sea supply lines.

This is a predictable response to actions likely sparked by Iran. We must hope it is not a trap to draw resources away from other volatile parts of the world at a time when Western military strength is questionable.

‘Our position will not change in the direction of the Palestinian issue, whether a naval alliance is established or not. Our position in support of Palestine and the Gaza Strip will remain until the end of the siege, the entry of food and medicine, and our support for the oppressed Palestinian people will remain continuous,’ said Mohammed Abdulsalam, a Houthi official.

Meanwhile, China is reportedly elated by Albanese’s lack of nether regions and his decision to ‘step away from the US’ by not sending a warship.

#Opinion: Australia is located on the other side of the world. It has finally stepped out of the US’ shadow to call for a ceasefire and could potentially act as a mediator in the conflict if needed. That opportunity will be lost if it has a military presence in the region. It is… pic.twitter.com/yFru5FVCA0

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) December 19, 2023

Saying that Australia is ‘stepping out of America’s shadow’, the mouthpiece for the Chinese government is stroking Labor’s ego with one paw while embarrassing them with the other.

In one of the laziest propaganda tactics known to politics, China is attempting to make the desperate-to-please Labor leader feel like a Big Man bravely standing up against the US when really, Albanese is presiding over a navy so weak and stripped bare that Albanese cannot spare the warship to defend Australia’s supply of fuel – fuel it will need to secure Australia’s security against likely Chinese aggression in the Pacific.

No doubt the cartoon accompanying the mocking article of a kangaroo balanced near a hole has a darker double meaning.

China is laughing at Albanese while getting ready to shove him into the hole.