Houthi Forces Capture Perim Island, Gaining Strategic Control Over Bab al‑Mandab Strait

In the early hours of this week, Yemeni Houthi forces seized Perim Island in the Bab al‑Mandab Strait after government troops withdrew, completing a takeover of the surrounding area that now gives the rebels direct control over a territory overlooking one of the world’s busiest maritime chokepoints. The move follows a series of advances by the Houthi‑aligned militia along the Yemeni coast, which have been steadily eroding the authority of the internationally recognized government.

Perim Island, a small landmass of roughly 22 km², sits at the mouth of the Red Sea where it meets the Gulf of Aden. Its position on the western side of the Bab al‑Mandab strait—through which about 12 % of global oil traffic passes—has made it a strategic fulcrum for maritime traffic between the Red Sea, the Suez Canal, and the Indian Ocean. The island hosts a modest naval base and a small airfield, and its control affords a military force the ability to monitor or even disrupt shipping that transits the strait, a key route for vessels bound for Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia.

The takeover is the latest chapter in Yemen’s decade‑long civil war, which erupted in 2014 when the Houthi movement—originating from the Zaidi Shia community in the north—captured the capital Sanaa and subsequently marched toward the southern port of Aden. The conflict has drawn in a Saudi‑led coalition, a UN‑backed government, and various regional actors, turning the country into a proxy battleground. In the past months, Houthi forces have expanded their control from the northwestern highlands to the southern coast, capturing key ports and now, as of this week, the island that overlooks the critical sea lane.

The Houthi leadership has declared that the seizure of Perim Island is a defensive measure to protect Yemeni sovereignty over its maritime borders and to secure the flow of aid and supplies to the people of Yemen. They claim the move is a response to ongoing attacks by the coalition’s naval forces on Yemeni shipping. The Saudi‑led coalition, however, has denounced the action as an escalation that threatens international shipping lanes and has urged the international community to support the Yemeni government’s efforts to reclaim the island. The United Nations has called for restraint, warning that any conflict in the Bab al‑Mandab could jeopardize the security of one of the world’s most vital maritime arteries.

The implications of Houthi control over Perim extend beyond Yemen’s borders. The Bab al‑Mandab strait is a linchpin for the global energy supply chain, with crude oil from the Middle East and Africa flowing through the Red Sea to the Suez Canal and onwards to Europe and Asia. A shift in control of Perim could affect shipping schedules, increase insurance premiums, and potentially prompt rerouting of vessels—costs that ripple through global markets. For Taiwan, whose economy relies heavily on maritime trade, the strait’s stability is crucial. Taiwan’s shipping fleet and energy imports transit the Red Sea en route to Asian ports, and any disruption could impact the delivery of critical inputs to its semiconductor industry and other export‑oriented sectors. Thus, the Houthi seizure of Perim Island is not only a regional flashpoint but also a reminder of how localized conflicts in strategic chokepoints can reverberate through the global supply chain, affecting economies far beyond the immediate theater of war.