The new task force includes the U.K., Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.
It will fall under the Combined Maritime Forces, a multinational alliance tasked with defending the world’s shipping lanes.
The new security initiative will also be included in the alliance’s Task Force 153, in charge of defending the Red Sea and other regional areas.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the task force will help keep the Houthi rebels at bay after the group has attacked several merchant ships through the important transit corridor of the Red Sea.
“This is not just a U.S. issue — this is an international problem, and it deserves an international response,” Austin told reporters on Monday.
Not everyone has backed the idea.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the Biden administration must deter the Houthis from attacking in the first place.
“We cannot let terrorists dictate the flow of global trade in the world’s largest shipping lane,” Wicker said in a statement, warning there could be a “catastrophe” in the Red Sea if the U.S. fails to act.
Several companies — including oil giant BP and container shipping firm Maersk — have already said they will redirect transit routes to avoid the Red Sea.
The World Shipping Council welcomed the news of the new task force.
“The mission of this task force is critical to protecting seafarers and to defending the foundational principle of freedom of navigation,” the organization wrote in a statement.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
