Bangladesh joins 14-nation maritime defence alliance

Bangladesh has joined a new 14-nation maritime defence coalition, announced by Saudi Arabia, aimed at protecting international shipping and energy supply routes in the Red Sea region. The alliance comes amid escalating tensions in the Middle East following Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in one of the world's busiest trade corridors.

Saudi Arabia unveiled the plans for the multinational coalition on Thursday, following an international meeting attended by representatives from 43 countries and the European Union. The coalition will be headquartered in Saudi Arabia, which will serve as its founding and leading state, according to a statement from the Saudi defence ministry .

Alongside Bangladesh, the alliance includes Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Pakistan, Djibouti, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan and Comoros. The ministry said these 14 countries issued a joint statement supporting the proposed coalition . Among the six Gulf Arab states, Oman and the United Arab Emirates were not listed among the countries backing the statement.

The coalition's objectives are to strengthen maritime security, safeguard freedom of navigation, secure international trade routes and energy supply lines, and protect shared maritime interests in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden, the ministry said.

The announcement comes a day after sources confirmed Saudi Arabia was seeking to build an international coalition to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks . The Houthis said on July 20 they would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea and have since claimed a series of attacks on Saudi-linked shipping. Saudi Arabia has responded with air strikes on what it said were Houthi military facilities in Yemen's Hodeidah used to threaten commercial shipping.

The Red Sea tensions mark the latest front in the wider Iran conflict, with attacks on shipping spreading beyond the Gulf and pushing oil prices higher. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, linking the southern Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, is a key maritime chokepoint for global trade and energy shipments. The European Union had launched a naval mission in the Red Sea in 2024 to restore and safeguard freedom of navigation after the Houthis disrupted maritime traffic earlier.