The Conflict in Yemen

[ShahryarHedayatiSHBA]

UN sanctions Houthis in Yemen, ignores Russian calls for all-inclusive arms embargo



The UN Security Council has imposed an arms embargo against the Houthi rebels in Yemen and blacklisted the son of Yemen's former president and a Houthi leader.

Fourteen members of the Security Council voted in favor of the resolution, Russia being the only abstention.

The Russian representative explained the move by saying that not all of Moscow's proposals had been included in the final text drafted by Jordan and Gulf Arab states.

"The co-sponsors refused to include the requirements insisted upon by Russia addressed to all sides to the conflict to swiftly halt fire and to begin peace talks," Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council after the vote.



The resolution also blacklisted Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, as well as the son of Yemen's former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The Jordanian draft resolution was being debated alongside a separate Russian draft, which called for a "humanitarian pause" in airstrikes by the Saudi-led military coalition.

An all-inclusive arms embargo on all parties in the Yemeni conflict, suggested earlier by Russia as an amendment to the Arab draft, was rejected.

READ MORE: US, UK thank Russia for evacuation of their citizens from Yemen

"We insisted that the arms embargo needs to be comprehensive; it's well known that Yemen is awash in weapons," Churkin said. "The adopted resolution should not be used for further escalation of the armed conflict."

The Shiite Houthi rebels took control of Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in September 2014, forcing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia. They are now fighting for the strategic port city of Aden.

The Houthi offensive is supported by soldiers loyal to Saleh, who was forced to give up power in Yemen after a 33-year rule in 2012.

Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Arab allies have been bombing the Houthi rebels since March 25, with over 1,000 people killed since the start of the conflict.



Al-Houthi and the ex-president's eldest son, Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, will face an asset freeze and travel ban in accordance with the sanctions.

Last November, UNSC imposed the similar sanctions on former President Saleh, the rebel group's military commander Abd al-Khaliq al-Houthi and the Houthi's second-in-command, Abdullah Yahya al Hakim.

The resolution also urged "Member States, in particular States neighboring Yemen, to inspect ... all cargo to Yemen" if they have reasonable grounds to believe it contains weapons.

The document demanded all Yemeni parties to stop fighting, especially the Houthis, who are called upon to withdraw from Sanaa and other areas they have seized.

It also blamed ex-President Saleh for "destabilizing actions" in Yemen, including supporting the Houthi uprising.

Following the arms embargo by the Security Council, the US Treasury Department announced unilateral sanctions against Yemeni rebel leader al-Houthi and the former head of Yemen's Republican Guard, Ahmed Saleh.

Yemen's Houthi-led Supreme Revolutionary Committee condemned the UN Security Council resolution, saying the move supported "aggression."

The governing body said it "calls on the masses of the Yemeni people to rally and protest on Thursday to condemn the Security Council resolution in support of the aggression," local television reported.

rt.com/news/249621-yemen-resolution-unsc-houthis/

 

[ShahryarHedayatiSHBA]

SAUDI-LED COALITION IN YEMEN MORE IN COMMON WITH 19TH-CENTURY EUROPE THAN 21ST-CENTURY MIDDLE EAST


By Conn Hallinan*

Saudi Arabia's recent intrusion into Yemen is ostensibly part of a bitter proxy war with Iran. But the coalition that Riyadh has assembled to intervene in Yemen's civil war has more in common with 19th-century Europe than the 21st-century Middle East.

The 22-member Arab League came together at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt last month to draw up its plan to attack the Houthi forces currently holding Yemen's capital. And the meeting bore an uncanny resemblance to a similar gathering of monarchies at Vienna in 1814.

The leading voice at the Egyptian resort was the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal. His historical counterpart was Prince Klemens von Metternich, the Austrian foreign minister who designed the "Concert of Europe" to ensure that no revolution would ever again threaten the monarchs who dominated the continent.

More than 200 years divides those gatherings, but their goals were much the same: to safeguard a small and powerful elite's dominion over a vast area.

There were not only kings represented at Sharm el-Sheikh. Besides the foreign ministers for the monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Morocco, and Jordan — most of the Arab League was there, with lots of encouragement and support from Washington and London.

But Saudi Arabia was running the show, footing the bills, and flying most of the bombing raids against Houthi fighters and refugee camps.

A Local War

The Yemen crisis is being represented as a clash between Iran and the Arab countries, part of ongoing tension between Sunni and Shiite Islam.

The Arab League accuses Iran of overthrowing the Yemeni government of Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, using the Shiite Houthis as their proxies. But the civil war in Yemen is a long-running conflict over access to political power and resources, not religion, or any attempt by Iran to spread its influence into a strategic section of the Arabian Peninsula.

The spread of sectarian warfare, as longtime Middle East journalist Patrick Cockburn points out, is a more likely result of the Saudi invasion than a cause.

The Houthis, like the Iranians, are Shiites, but of the Zaydi variety — not one that many Iranians would even recognize. And while the Houthis have been at war with the central government off and on since 2004, the issues are profane, not sacred.

Yemen — a country of 25 million people that's about the size of France — is the poorest nation in the Middle East, with declining resources, an exploding population, and a host of players competing for a piece of the shrinking pie. Unemployment is above 40 percent and water is scarce. Oil, the country's major export, is due to run out in the next few years.

The country is also one of the most fragmented in the region, divided between the poorer north and the richer, more populous south, and riven by a myriad of tribes and clans. Until 1990 it was not even one country, and it took a fratricidal civil war in 1994 to keep it unified. There is still a strong southern secessionist movement.

The current war is a case in point.

The Houthis fought six wars with former military strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was forced out of the presidency in 2012 by the GCC and the UN Security Council. Hadi, his vice president, took over and largely ignored the Houthis — always a bad idea in Yemen.

So, aided by their former enemy, Saleh — who maintains a strong influence in the Yemeni armed forces — the Houthis went to war with Hadi. The new president was placed under house arrest by the rebels, but escaped south to the port of Aden before fleeing to Saudi Arabia when the Houthis and Saleh's forces marched on the city.

Logical Contortions

That's the simple version of the complexity that is Yemen. But "complex" was not a word encountered much at Sharm el-Sheikh. For the Arab League, this is all about Iran. The Houthis, said President-in-exile Hadi, are "Iranian stooges."

Most independent experts disagree.

The Houthis, says Towson University professor Charles Schmitz, an expert on the group, "are domestic, homegrown, and have deep roots in Yemen going back thousands of years." He says that the Houthis have received support from Iran, but "not weapons, which they take from the Yemeni military."

"Does that mean they are going to do Iran's bidding?" he asks. "I don't think so."

Both Democrats and Republican hailed the Saudi attacks. "I applaud the Saudis for taking this action to protect their homeland and to protect their own neighborhood," said House Speaker John Boehner. Rep. Adam Schiff, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, agreed. The Obama administration says it's providing intelligence and logistical support for the operation.

U.S. involvement in Yemen is long-standing, dating back to 1979 and the Carter administration. According to UPI, the CIA funneled money to Jordan's King Hussein to foment a north-south civil war in Yemen, and U.S. Special Forces have been on the ground directing drone strikes for over a decade.

This, of course, creates certain logical disconnects.

The United States is supporting the Saudi bombing in Yemen because the Houthis are allied with Iran and because Washington relies on the Yemeni government as a partner against al-Qaeda. But in Iraq, the U.S. is tacitly cooperating with Iran in the war on the Islamic State, or ISIS. And while the Saudi government is opposed to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, aided by U.S. intelligence, it's attacking one of the major forces fighting al-Qaeda in Yemen — the Houthis.

In the meantime, the Gulf Council has stepped up its support of the Nusra Front in Syria, a group tied to al-Qaeda and a sworn enemy of the Gulf monarchies as well as the United States.

Ginning Up a Regional War

On one level this reaches the level of farce. On the other, the situation is anything but humorous.

The Yemen intervention will deepen Shiite-Sunni divisions in the Islamic world and pull several countries into Yemen, the very definition of a quagmire. While the Arab League's code name for the Yemini adventure is "Operation Decisive Storm," Cockburn points out, the military operation will almost certainly be the opposite.

"In practice, a decisive outcome is the least likely prospect for Yemen, just like it has been in Iraq and Afghanistan," he writes. "A political feature common to all three countries is that power is divided between so many players it is impossible to defeat or placate them all for very long."

Even if the Houthis are driven back to their traditional base in the north, it would be foolhardy for any ground force to take them on in the mountains they call home. The Yemeni government tried six times and never succeeded. It is rather unlikely that Egyptian or Saudi troops will do any better. While the Arab League did make a decision to form a 40,000-man army, how that will be constituted — and who will command it — is not clear.

Besides stirring up more religious sectarianism, the Yemen war will aid the Saudis and the GCC in their efforts to derail the tentative nuclear agreement with Iran.

If that agreement fails, a major chance for stability in the region will be lost. Saudi Arabia's newfound aggressiveness — and its bottomless purse — will gin up the civil war in Syria, increase tensions in northern Lebanon, and torpedo the possibility of organizing a serious united front against ISIS.

Muzzling Modernity

While the U.S. has talked about a political solution, that's not what's coming out of the Arab League. The military campaign, says Arab League General Secretary Nabil el-Araby, "will continue until all the Houthi militia retreats and disarms and a strong unified Yemen returns." The bombings have already killed hundreds of civilians and generated tens of thousands of refugees. Gulf Council sources say that the air war may continue for up to six months.

Instead of endorsing what is certain to be a disaster, Washington should join the call by European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini for a ceasefire and negotiations. "I'm convinced that military actions is not a solution," she said, calling on "all regional actors" to "act responsibly and constructively"¦ for a return to negotiations."

The Houthis are not interested in running Yemen. Senior Houthi leader Saleh Ali al-Sammad said that his organization "does not want anything more than partnership, not control." Houthi ally and ex-president Saleh also said, "Let's go to dialogue and ballot boxes," not bombing. Yemen needs an influx of aid, not bombs, drones, and hellfire missiles.

The Congress of Europe muzzled European modernism for more than a generation, just as the Gulf Cooperation Council and Egypt will do their best to strangle what is left of the Arab Spring. Prince Metternich remained Austria's Chancellor until a storm of nationalism and revolution swept across Europe in 1848 and brought down the congress of reaction.

eurasiareview.com/14042015-saudi-led-coalition-in-yemen-more-in-common-with-19th-century-europe-than-21st-century-middle-east-oped/

 

[ShahryarHedayatiSHBA]

Yemen conflict's risk for Saudis: 'Their Vietnam'



BEIRUT — Two weeks into a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen, airstrikes appear to have accelerated the country's fragmentation into warring tribes and militias while doing little to accomplish the goal of returning the ousted Yemeni president to power, analysts and residents say.

The Yemeni insurgents, known as Houthis, have pushed ahead with their offensive and seem to have protected many of their weapons stockpiles from the coalition's bombardments, analysts say. The fighting has killed hundreds of people, forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes and laid waste to the strategic southern city of Aden.

The battles are increasingly creating problems that go beyond the rebels opposing President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the forces supporting him. The conflict has reduced available water and food supplies in a country already suffering from dangerous levels of malnutrition and created a security vacuum that has permitted territorial advances by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

For the Saudi government and its allies, the military operation in Yemen may be turning into a quagmire, analysts say.

"What's a potential game changer in all of this is not just the displacement of millions of people, but it's this huge spread of disease, starvation and inaccessibility [of] water, combined with an environment where radical groups are increasingly operating in the open and recruiting," said Jon B. Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.


The Saudi-led airstrike campaign entered its 14th day on Wednesday, hitting a residential area in the capital of Sanaa. (AP)
The Yemen conflict, he added, could become a situation where "nobody can figure out either who started this fight or how to end it."

Saudi Arabia, a Sunni powerhouse, views the Houthis as proxies of Shiite Iran. The air campaign that began March 25 is widely seen in the region as an attempt by the Saudis to counter the expanding influence of Iran, which has gained significant sway in Arab countries like Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

Hadi, the internationally recognized Yemeni president, was pushed out of the capital, Sanaa, in February. He then attempted to establish an authority in Aden before being forced to flee to Riyadh, the Saudi capital, last month.

In a media briefing in Riyadh this week, a Saudi military spokesman painted a positive picture of the offensive in neighboring Yemen, saying that Houthi militias had been isolated in Aden and that groups of rebels were abandoning the fight. Saudi officials have argued that a two-week time frame is too short to judge the operation's outcome and have emphasized that they are moving carefully to avoid civilian casualties.

The Saudi-led coalition, which the U.S. government supports with intelligence and weapons, consists of mostly Arab and Sunni Muslim countries, and the level of quiet coordination among their armed forces has impressed analysts. The United Arab Emirates and Jordan are believed to have joined Saudi Arabia in conducting air raids that have destroyed scores of military bases and arms depots, said Theodore Karasik, a Dubai-based analyst on Middle Eastern military issues. The Saudis also have received support from Egypt's navy in patrolling the coast of Yemen, he said.

Still, Karasik said, Houthi rebels appear to have successfully hidden from bombardment significant stores of weapons, possibly by moving them to the insurgents' mountainous northern stronghold of Saada. To destroy those arms and persuade the Houthis to halt their offensive and agree to peace talks, a ground attack would be required, he said.

"This illustrates that air power alone cannot rid enemy ground forces of their weapons and capability," Karasik said. "It makes them scatter, and it makes them hide their weapons for a later day."





Saudi airstrikes in Yemen VIEW GRAPHIC






Difficult choices


Ground troops would certainly face stiff resistance from the Houthi militiamen. Seasoned guerrilla fighters, they seized parts of southern Saudi Arabia during a brief war in 2009, killing over 100 Saudi troops.

Saudi Arabia has not ruled out a ground attack, but its allies appear wary of such a move. The kingdom has asked Pakistan to commit troops to the campaign, but that country is deeply divided over participating in an operation that could anger its own Shiite minority.

Though fraught with risk, continued airstrikes and a possible ground incursion may be the only choices that Saudi Arabia sees itself as having, said Imad Salamey, a Middle East expert at Lebanese American University. He said that officials in Riyadh probably are concerned that relenting could be perceived as weakness, especially by Iran.

Saudi Arabia also considers Yemen to be its backyard, he noted. "As far as the Saudis are concerned, this is a fight for their homeland, the existence of their regime."

On Thursday, Iranian leaders issued strong condemnations of the Saudi-directed strikes. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called them a "crime and a genocide" in a televised speech.

Crumbling support
The Yemen campaign is part of an increasingly assertive Saudi policy in the region that is driven in part by what analysts say is concern over a possible agreement on Iran's nuclear program. The Saudis fear such a deal could amount to U.S. recognition of Iran's growing influence in the region.

The Saudis have said that they want to restore Hadi's government. But the president's support base — both in the splintered military and among the public – appears to be crumbling.

Many residents say they resent how Hadi and fellow exiled leaders cheer on coalition assaults from abroad as Aden residents confront heavily armed Houthi militiamen and their allies.

"He's only ever let us down," said Ali Mohammed, 28, an unemployed resident of Aden, referring to Hadi.

Wadah al-Dubaish, 40, who is leading a militia in Aden fighting the Houthis, said that Hadi is no longer welcome in the city. "We don't want him here and don't want to see his face here," he said.

In other areas where anti-Houthi sentiment runs high, Hadi's stock also appears to be falling. Ahmed Othman, a politician in the southern city of Taiz who opposes the Houthis, blamed Hadi for not organizing military resistance against the rebels. He also expressed worry about unidentified fighters who are increasingly staging attacks on Houthi positions in the city.

"The biggest concern we have now in Taiz is the absence of security," he said.

In provinces where opposition to the Houthis runs high, especially in the south, tribal forces have played an increasingly prominent role in opposing the rebels.

Farea al-Muslimi, a Yemeni analyst and visiting scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center, said that mounting civilian casualties from the coalition air raids have fanned public anger. So, too, have worsening shortages of food and water, he added.

He said the chaos is creating fertile ground for extremist groups like AQAP. The group, which uses Yemen as a base to stage attacks in the West, has seized significant territory during the fighting, including Yemen's fifth-largest city as well as a military installation on the border with Saudi Arabia.

It may be impossible to put Yemen back together, Muslimi said.

"The days of a Yemen that could be run by one person who could be dealt with and who could take care of things are gone," he said.

That leaves the Saudis with no obvious military or diplomatic exit, he added. "This is becoming their Vietnam."

washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/saudi-air-war-struggles-to-make-gains-as-yemen-fragments/2015/04/09/1a045766-ddf6-11e4-b6d7-b9bc8acf16f7_story.html

 

[ShahryarHedayatiSHBA]

Saudi Arabia Denies Iranian Navy Entrance to Yemen's Gulf of Aden


sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150408/1020637964.html#ixzz3Wkt5vzs5


Sudan Ready to Send Ground Troops to Yemen if Needed – Minister



sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150408/1020635901.html#ixzz3WktF2Oii

 

[ShahryarHedayatiSHBA]

Afghan Militants Vow To Send 'Thousands' Of Fighters To Yemen







ISLAMABAD: An Afghanistan-based jihadist group on Wednesday vowed to send "thousands" of fighters to Yemen in support of Saudi Arabia.

Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin was one of the main Sunni insurgent groups that fought against Soviet troops and later re-emerged to fight US-led coalition forces after 2001.

"If there is any possibility to go to Iraq and Yemen, thousands of Afghan mujahideen would be ready to go, to counter Iran's interference and to defend their Muslim brothers," its leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, former prime minister of Afghanistan, said in an online statement.

"After Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, Tehran has now started interfering in Yemen, it is supporting the anti-Muslim, apostate troops," he added.



Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin first emerged as part of the anti-Soviet mujahideen alliance in the 1980s which was bankrolled by Saudi Arabia and the United States, and coordinated by Pakistani intelligence.
(Coalition for Democracy )



Saudi Arabia has asked its longstanding ally Pakistan to contribute planes, ships and ground troops to the operation against Iranian-backed Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen.

But Pakistan has resisted so far, calling for a diplomatic solution and saying it does not want to take part in any conflict that would worsen sectarian divisions in the Muslim world.

(AFP)
dailycapital.pk/afghan-militants-vow-to-send-thousands-of-fighters-to-yemen/

 

[ShahryarHedayatiSHBA]

Houthis Say Control 90% of Territory in Port of Aden



"Right now we control up to 90 percent of the Aden territory. Fights are taking place near one of the city's churches," Mutag told RIA Novosti.

He also said that Russian nationals in Yemen had nothing to fear despite the hostilities across the country.

Yemen is currently in a confrontation as Houthi forces continue to overtake areas controlled by diminishing troops loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who fled the country amid escalating fighting.

Hadi left the country in late March as Houthis made advances in Aden after he had removed there following an escape from the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

On March 25, Hadi asked Arab League countries for military aid. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition of states quickly launched airstrikes on Houthi positions in the Yemeni capital.

Houthi forces have warned they could expand attacks to Saudi Arabia if the airstrikes continue.




sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150402/1020379272.html#ixzz3WKTyZMKA

 

[ShahryarHedayatiSHBA]

Saudi Arabia rejects all-inclusive arms embargo on Yemen proposed by Russia


rt.com/news/246877-arms-embargo-yemen-saudi/

 

[ShahryarHedayatiSHBA]

Turkey, Iran Oppose Foreign Interference in Yemeni Conflict - Rouhani

sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150407/1020587096.html#ixzz3WenTXMaz




Houthi Leaders Welcome Russia's 'Positive Role' in Solving Yemen Crisis


sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150407/1020589471.html#ixzz3WenYzPQm

 

[Rowdy]

Houthis Say Control 90% of Territory in Port of Aden



"Right now we control up to 90 percent of the Aden territory. Fights are taking place near one of the city's churches," Mutag told RIA Novosti.

He also said that Russian nationals in Yemen had nothing to fear despite the hostilities across the country.

Yemen is currently in a confrontation as Houthi forces continue to overtake areas controlled by diminishing troops loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who fled the country amid escalating fighting.

Hadi left the country in late March as Houthis made advances in Aden after he had removed there following an escape from the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

On March 25, Hadi asked Arab League countries for military aid. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition of states quickly launched airstrikes on Houthi positions in the Yemeni capital.

Houthi forces have warned they could expand attacks to Saudi Arabia if the airstrikes continue.




sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150402/1020379272.html#ixzz3WKTyZMKA

nice
would love to see some saudis and pakis in body bags.

 

[Rowdy]

 

[ShahryarHedayatiSHBA]

 

[ShahryarHedayatiSHBA]

Houthi fighters in full control of Aden's Presidential Palace

 

[ShahryarHedayatiSHBA]

Rouhani and Erdogan demand a ceasefire in Yemen:

 

[ShahryarHedayatiSHBA]

Saudi forces have landed in Perim island . Fighting is still going on

All credits goes to IMF

 

[ShahryarHedayatiSHBA]

Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia .... Heavy clashes between Saudi soldiers and local fighters going on for last five hours in Awamiyah

 

[ShahryarHedayatiSHBA]

Iran dispatches planeload of humanitarian aid to Yemen

The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) has dispatched a planeload of humanitarian aid to Yemen where Shia mosques were recently targeted by terrorist attacks.

The IRCS sent its 13-ton consignment of humanitarian aid and medical supply on Monday.

Meanwhile, 52 people injured in the recent deadly bomb attacks in Yemen were flown to Iran on Monday and taken to hospital for treatment.
An Iranian medical official said the patients have sustained such injuries as fractures, burns and amputation.

Soleiman Heidari added that six of the victims are in critical condition.

He noted that Iran sent a six-member medical team to Yemen following the terrorist attacks to treat the victims.

Three bomb attacks were carried out at two mosques in Sana'a on Friday. At least 142 people were killed and 351 suffered injuries in the blasts targeting Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques.
A branch of the ISIL terrorist group in Yemen claimed responsibility for the bombings in an online statement, warning that the attacks were "just the tip of the iceberg."

The blasts came against the backdrop of intense gun battles between supporters and opponents of fugitive President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in the southern port city of Aden. More than a dozen people died in the fighting, which also forced closure of the Aden International Airport.

Hadi, along with members of Prime Minister Khaled Bahah's cabinet, stepped down in late January, but the parliament did not approve the president's resignation. The president fled his home in Sana'a on February 21, after weeks under effective house arrest and went to Aden, Yemen's second largest city, where he officially withdrew his resignation and highlighted his intention to resume duties. This came after the Houthi fighters took control of Sana'a in September 2014.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/03...n-aid-to-Yemen

 

[ShahryarHedayatiSHBA]

 

[ShahryarHedayatiSHBA]

Red : Al-Qaeda + Ex-president Hadi suporters +Southern separatist
Green : Houthi + Yemeni Army + Ex-president Saleh suporters
Black : ISIS
Yellow : Neutral zone

All credits goes to IMF

 

[sorcerer]

War in Yemen compromises China's naval strategy

The conflict in Yemen reveals the strategic vulnerability of China's People Liberation Army Navy. At the same time it provided a series of firsts, in terms of operational capability, during China's successful evacuation of foreign nationals.

China, over the past decade has taken a keen interest in Yemen's political stability and security. Although China has financially invested in Yemen, Beijing's economic ties to Sana'a are relatively paltry.

Yemen's true value to China lies in its strategic geopolitical location. Yemen sits abeam the all-important shipping lanes, which traverses the narrow Bab el-Mandeb strait. Nearly 19% (2013) of China's crude oil imports pass through this vital artery, signifying the primacy of keeping this strategic lane unimpeded.

For this very reason, since 2009, the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has been highly active in the Gulf of Aden. China's mobilization into the Gulf was motivated by two main factors. First, Beijing sought to protect vulnerable Chinese flagged merchant ships navigating the regions dangerous waters. Second and perhaps more importantly, PLAN's operations have allowed China to remind its western competitors the extent of its maritime reach.

In order to achieve these goals, Beijing deployed its most modern warships to region. PLAN has participated in high-profile multinational initiatives and gained much needed real-world operational experience. In fact the evacuation of Chinese nationals from the Port of Aden by PLAN demonstrated to both the world and China the proficiency of its naval forces.

PLAN's operational limitations

Despite this however, China's entire navy is still desperately underdeveloped. PLAN's missions in the Gulf of Aden have proven resource intensive. A sustained presence in the region requires China to utilize its naval resupply assets at 100% capacity, leaving Beijing with a compromised contingency plan at best.

What is required of PLAN is a permanent port of call in the region, in close proximity to its western counterparts. Just across the strait from the Port of Aden, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and even Japan have all established naval ports in Djibouti.

This fact has cemented western maritime dominance in the region for the foreseeable future, meaning that China's strategic interests will continue to be dependent on western military assets in the Gulf of Aden.

War in Yemen compromised PLAN's long-term strategy

The conflict in Yemen has thus rendered the use of the Port of Aden for PLAN operations a non-starter. In addition to violence between Houthi militias and forces loyal to the ousted government, the emerging power vacuum has allowed al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to expand with relative impunity.

While the loss of Aden as a strategically located port of call does not prevent PLAN from expanding its maritime footprint entirely, it does demonstrate the extent to which China is exposed to distant conflicts. Until Yemen stabilizes, Oman's Port of Salalah 1500km to the west will more than likely represent PLAN's only viable port in the region.

Access to Salalah however cannot however satisfy or guarantee all of PLAN's mid and long-term requirements. China must continue to seek out alternative ports if it is to maintain status as a true maritime power. As such, stabilizing Yemen by engaging Saudi Arabia and Iran should constitute one of China's most pressing global priorities.

War in Yemen compromises China’s naval strategy | Global Risk Insights

 

[IBSA]

India needs to play a bigger role in Yemen conflict

Though guns have stopped booming and bombardment of Houthi strongholds suspended for now; the crisis in Yemen is becoming more ominous.

The reasons are many.

Pakistan has decided not to send its troops to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to fight against Houthi rebels in Yemen. At the same time it has also said that it would 'stand shoulder to shoulder with the Saudi brothers' and not step back from its commitment to safeguard the territorial integrity of the Kingdom.

Pakistan Prime Minister, Miyan Nawaz Sharif, sent his brother and chief minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif as his special envoy to the Kingdom to smoothen the frayed tempers in the House of Saud following the resolution passed by the Parliament that Pakistan should remain neutral in the war between Yemen and Saudi Arabia and not send any troops to KSA.

But the resolution of the Pakistan Parliament was not taken lightly either by Saudi Arabia or its Gulf allies. Though Saudi Arabia has not made any critical statement against Pakistan publicly, the UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Mohammed Gargash, said, "The Arabian Gulf is in a dangerous confrontation, its strategic security is on the edge, and the moment of truth distinguishes between the real ally and the ally of media and statements." He also warned that Pakistan may have to pay a heavy price for its 'vague' stand.

Turkey is also weighing its options to help Saudi Arabia in conflict with Yemen. The Turkish stand has dealt a serious blow to its relations with Iran, which had remained reasonably good all these years. The conflict in Yemen which was bombarded by Saudi Arabia and its allies in the Gulf and others in late March has the potential of involving more countries. For instance, Iran might increase its involvement to protect Houthi rebels who are Shia Muslims.

The countries outside the West Asia such as Turkey and Pakistan are wary of the sectarian nature of wars in Syria and now in Yemen. Both Turkey and Pakistan are predominantly Sunni populated states like the GCC countries. It is being felt for a long time that the danger of the Sunni-Shia conflict might get out of control. This feeling acquired greater proportions with the beginning of the Arab Spring in 2011.

But the situation in Yemen is more important for India as the latter has maintained good relations with that country. Besides importing a major chunk of its fuel from the region, India also has 3 million people working there. The war could affect the entire region.

Yemen is also important for India because of the presence of Al-Qaida there. If the war in Yemen, which is essentially against the government that has already lost its control over the Capital city Sana'a, goes on for some more time, then the possibility of Pakistan, Turkey and Iran getting more involved there increases.

The position of US is not clear. Though it wants to decimate Al-Qaeda in Yemen and had supported the Houthis earlier, it now appears to be in two minds. Its negotiations with Iran to reach an understanding over the use of nuclear power for civilian purposes, have irked Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries who perceive Iran as a threat to their governments in the region. The foremost critic of the US-Iran dialogue is, of course, Israel that feels that talks could end up paving the way for Tehran to become a nuclear power challenging the hegemony of Tel Aviv. The US too has been of the same view until recently. But its continuous dialogue with Iran appears to be changing the equilibrium in the region.

The war in Yemen, as has been said earlier, is essentially local in nature. It is not exactly a Sunni versus Shia war. It has multiple dimensions. Hence, Yemenis should be allowed to settle their problems of governance and tribal rivalries peacefully with the help of the UN.

The Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula form part of the extended neighbourhood of India. Any turmoil there would affect India in more ways than one; specifically, its oil imports and the presence of large workforce. Therefore, India cannot restrict its role to evacuating people from the war-affected areas alone. It has to have a broader perspective of the region including expansion of conflicts. That scenario has begun to look real in the present context.

India needs to play a bigger role in Yemen conflict - The Times of India