Australia To Command International Taskforce In the Red Sea Against Houthi Rebels

Australia will lead an international taskforce in a six-month operation, starting October, to protect the shipping routes in the Red Sea against Houthi insurgents from Yemen.

The Defense department announced that Australia will command the Combined Maritime Force's Combined Task Force (CTF) 153 along with the United States and United Kingdom, as part of the seven-personnel Operation Hydranth, which was formed in February 2024, News.com reported.

"We proudly work alongside 44 other member nations in the Combined Maritime Force to support freedom of navigation and free, fair and open trade, and the international rules‑based order. This role demonstrates Australia's commitment to international rules, and complements our separate deployment under Operation Hydranth," Joint Operations chief Vice Admiral Justin Jones said Friday.

The multinational Combined Task Force [CTF] 153 was established in 2022 to protect maritime security in key waterways, especially in the Middle East. Several countries, including the U.S., the U.K., France and Japan, are part of the maritime taskforce. The focus of CTF 153 is to combat smuggling and terrorism, while ensuring the safe transit of commercial ships, Bulgarian Military reported.

Set up under the coalition of 34 nations, the Combined Maritime Forces is dedicated to defend approximately 3.2 million square miles of international waters.

Earlier, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese came under criticism for refusing a request by the U.S. to deploy warships in the region.

Since last November, Houthi rebels have increased their attacks on container ships using drones, ballistic missiles, and even an explosive unmanned vessel. Due to the attacks, many logistics companies were forced to halt the ship movement in the route that handles 12% of the world's seaborne cargo. The route links Europe with Asia and Australia.