Egypt mulls ‘Red Sea security strategy’

The Egyptian government yesterday said that it discussed a proposed strategy to achieve security for the Red Sea, according to an official statement by the Egyptian military spokesperson Tamer El-Refai.

In a study titled: “The proposed Egyptian strategy to achieve the security of the Red Sea through international and regional changes”, addressed “the geopolitics of the Red Sea and the geopolitical perspective of the different forces towards the Red Sea, as well as international and regional changes and their impact on the security of the Red Sea.”

It concluded with a “proposed strategy to achieve security of the Red Sea in the political, security, economic, social and military fields.”

READ: Egypt’s Sisi calls for Gulf stability, including Qatar

The statement added that the study in question envisions that “the Red Sea will become a coherent political unit capable of dealing with the great powers and giant blocs, and creating a vision for future cooperation between these countries in various fields, which achieves the security of navigation in the Red Sea in addition to building a joint deterrent strategy to achieve the possibility of counter future hostilities to achieve the security of the Red Sea.”

“The research illustrates the importance of the Bab El-Mandab Strait, which represents the only port controlling the Red Sea militarily and commercially, and the importance of the Gulf of Suez, the northern port of the Red Sea,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

READ: Saudi Arabia resumes oil shipments through Bab El-Mandab

Last July, Saudi Arabia suspended oil shipments via Bab El-Mandab following attacks by Yemen Houthi militias on two Saudi vessels.

Saudi Arabia has launched air raids on Houthis since 2015, accusing the group of being allied to Iran. Saudi, an ally of Egypt, has supported President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi since he orchestrated a bloody military coup against the country’s first democratically elected President, Mohammed Morsi, in 2013.