Houthis seize Red Sea’s Hanish Islands, sparking coalition condemnation

The Houthi militia announced on Monday that it had taken control of the Hanish Islands, a small archipelago in the Red Sea roughly 150 kilometres off Yemen’s western coast. The seizure was carried out by a combined force of ground troops and naval units that entered the islands from the mainland early on Tuesday, according to statements released on the group’s official channels. Yemeni officials in exile, backed by the Saudi‑led coalition, have condemned the move as an illegal occupation of internationally recognised Yemeni territory, while the Houthis framed it as a defensive step to protect “our sovereign waters” from what they describe as foreign interference.

The Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, emerged in the 1990s as a Zaydi revivalist movement opposed to the government of then‑President Ali Abdullah Saleh, whom they accused of corruption and reliance on Saudi and U.S. support. Over the ensuing two decades the group evolved into a powerful political and military force, drawing significant backing from Iran and aligning itself with the broader “Axis of Resistance” that includes Hezbollah and other Iran‑aligned entities. Since 2014 the Houthis have been a central actor in Yemen’s protracted civil war, seizing the capital Sana’a and prompting a Saudi‑UAE coalition to intervene in support of the internationally recognised government. The conflict has generated widespread humanitarian suffering and drawn numerous sanctions, with several Western nations designating the Houthis as a terrorist organization.

Control of the Hanish Islands carries strategic weight far beyond their modest size. Situated near the Bab al‑Mandab strait, the islands overlook one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors, through which an estimated 10 percent of global oil shipments and a substantial share of container traffic pass each year. By establishing a foothold on the islands, the Houthis can monitor, and potentially disrupt, vessel movements along the Red Sea route that links the Suez Canal to the Gulf of Aden. The move also extends the group’s maritime reach, which has already included attacks on commercial shipping and the deployment of naval mines in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since 2017.

The Houthi leadership issued a brief communique asserting that the operation was “a necessary step to safeguard our maritime borders against hostile forces seeking to choke our lifelines.” In contrast, the Yemeni government-in-exile, led by President Rashad al‑Alimi, called the action a “brazen violation of international law” and appealed to the United Nations for an emergency resolution condemning the seizure. Saudi Arabia’s deputy foreign minister warned that any attempt to block navigation would trigger “swift and decisive” countermeasures, while the United States’ Central Command reiterated its commitment to protecting freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and warned commercial vessels to remain vigilant. The UN’s Panel of Experts on Yemen has yet to issue a formal statement, but previous reports have highlighted the islands as a potential flashpoint for further escalation.

The implications of the Hanish Islands’ capture ripple through the broader regional and global economy. Disruption of Red Sea shipping could force carriers to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, adding weeks and thousands of dollars to transit times for oil, liquefied natural gas and containerised goods. Such delays would reverberate through supply chains that underpin Taiwan’s export‑driven economy, particularly the semiconductor sector, which relies on timely delivery of raw materials and finished products. Moreover, heightened insecurity in the Red Sea may prompt insurance premiums to rise and could compel multinational navies to increase their presence, diverting resources from other theatres. For Taiwan, whose trade accounts for a sizable share of world maritime traffic, any destabilisation of this key artery underscores the interconnected nature of global logistics and the importance of diplomatic engagement to maintain open, secure sea lanes.