ABU
DHABI, Feb 23 (Reuters) – Shipping corridors used by Gulf energy
exporters are not at risk from violence and political volatility in
Yemen and the seizure of swathes of territory in the region by Islamic
State militants, a senior U.S. naval officer said on Monday.
Vice Admiral John Miller, Commander of U.S. Naval Central Command,
told a conference in Abu Dhabi that a “robust” U.S. and international
maritime presence was helping to minimise threats to oil-producing
countries in the region.
“As dynamic as the region is today, what we have seen over the past
years is the maritime atmosphere has been safe, the free flow of
commerce has been stable and secure,” said Miller, also Commander of
U.S. 5th Fleet/Combined Maritime Forces.
He was referring to the Bab el Mandab, a narrow channel between the
Horn of Africa and the Middle East, the Suez Canal, one of the world’s
busiest waterways which connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, and
the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman, the world’s most important
oil export route.
Miller said combined maritime forces – international naval coalitions
based in Bahrain that jointly stage security patrols against militancy,
piracy and smuggling – which he said operated 65 to 70 vessels on any
given day, were sufficient.
“An organization like ISIL (Islamic State) is capable of surprising
us … so we want to work hard to eliminate that opportunity for surprise
and we do that through a robust presence in the maritime environment,”
Miller said.
“In the Suez Canal what we’ve seen consistently despite unrest that
has occurred in Egypt … (is) a Suez canal that is secure and properly
administered,” he said.
However, he described events in Yemen, where the Houthi armed group
replaced the government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi in January,
as “a very dynamic situation”.
“Instability in Yemen is something that has the potential to lead to
instability in the strait of Bab el Mandab in the Gulf of Aden in the
southern part of the Red Sea, all of which is cause for concern,” he
said.
The United States and its allies regularly stage naval exercises in
the Gulf, saying they want to ensure freedom of navigation. (Reporting
by Maha El Dahan; Editing by William Maclean and Louise Ireland)
© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.