New Zealand will deploy a six-member defence team to the Middle East as part of an international coalition to uphold maritime security in the Red Sea, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Tuesday.
The United States and Britain have been carrying out air strikes against the Iranian-allied Houthi group in Yemen, who have been targeting civilian ships in the Red Sea for weeks in what they say is a protest against Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
“Houthi attacks against commercial and naval shipping are illegal, unacceptable and profoundly destabilising,” Luxon said during a media briefing.
“This deployment … is a continuation of New Zealand’s long history of defending freedom of navigation both in the Middle East and closer to home.”
U.S. and British forces carried out a fresh round of strikes on Monday, targeting a Houthi underground storage site as well as missile and surveillance capabilities, the Pentagon said.
New Zealand to send defence team to support Red Sea security
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