Britain backing Saudi Arabia sends ‘political signal’ to Gulf allies as Houthis threaten vital oil routes
UK support for Saudi Arabia sends signal Britain will stand by Gulf allies as Houthis threaten oil routes, former security chief says
Britain’s decision to provide military support to Saudi Arabia is an important political signal that the UK is prepared to stand alongside its Gulf allies as Houthi attacks threaten some of the world’s most important energy routes, a former national security adviser has told LBC News.
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Sir Mark Lyall Grant said the deployment of an RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft was unlikely on its own to dramatically change the military situation, but showed that Andy Burnham’s government was prepared to support Saudi Arabia and protect vital shipping routes through the Red Sea and Gulf.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed on Tuesday that Britain would provide additional defensive military support to Saudi Arabia following renewed Houthi attacks, deploying an RAF Voyager following a request from the Saudi government. The aircraft will support Saudi defensive operations, adding to existing British air-defence assistance in the kingdom.
Speaking to James Hanson on LBC News, Sir Mark said Saudi Arabia was seeking greater Western assistance as it comes under attack from the Iran-backed Houthis.
“What the Saudis really want, I think, is two things,” he said. “They want the Americans and the British and others to help them actually bombing the Houthis, to drive the Houthis back from the Red Sea coast.
“And secondly, they want help with air defence systems, because the Houthis are attacking some of their airfields and installations. That is not really on offer at the moment.
“But what the British have offered is this air-to-air refuelling.”
Sir Mark, who served as Britain’s national security adviser between 2015 and 2017, said the significance of the deployment was likely to be greater politically than militarily.
“I think it’s more political than military, to be honest,” he said.
“The Saudis themselves have 22 air-to-air refuelling aircraft, the second largest in the world after the United States. So one extra Voyager from the United Kingdom is not likely to make much of a military difference.
“But it is a political signal that Andy Burnham’s government is prepared to support allies in the Gulf region, and is prepared to try and ease the pressure on the oil supplies coming out of both the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and also the Gulf of Hormuz.”
Read more: Burnham sends RAF to Saudi Arabia in bid to defend oil-rich ally from Houthi onslaught
The government explained that the British aircraft will be used only to support Saudi jets involved in defensive missions and will not refuel aircraft carrying out offensive strikes inside Yemen. The mission is expected to begin within days and last for a limited period, potentially several weeks.
Defence minister Luke Pollard has also claimed that supporting Saudi Arabia could help prevent further pressure on British fuel prices by reducing the risk of another major disruption to global energy supplies.
With the Strait of Hormuz already disrupted by the wider conflict with Iran, ministers are increasingly concerned about the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, through which ships must pass to reach the Suez Canal.
Mr Pollard said the Voyager deployment was intended to prevent “further escalation” in the Red Sea which could put further pressure on fuel prices, while the MoD said instability in the Gulf risked pushing up prices, disrupting energy supplies and increasing costs for British businesses.
Sir Mark said the Bab al-Mandab was particularly important because of its position at the entrance to one of the world’s most important shipping routes.
“It matters because it’s the entry to the Suez Canal, basically,” he told LBC.
“So ships cannot get through the Suez Canal except going past the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea.”
He warned that the Houthis’ presence along Yemen’s Red Sea coastline gives the group the ability to threaten ships moving through the narrow waterway.
“Given that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, that provides something like, you know, 20% of oil supplies. Going through the Suez Canal is another 10-15%. So it makes quite a difference if ships cannot get through that strait.”
The decision represents one of Mr Burnham’s first significant military deployments since becoming Prime Minister and comes as he attends the UN General Assembly in New York, where he is due to meet Donald Trump for the first time as Prime Minister.
Sir Mark said Mr Burnham’s first objective should be to establish a workable personal relationship with the US President.
“If I was advising him, I think there are two objectives for him,” he said.
“He wants President Trump to go away from that meeting recognising that Andy Burnham is a man of substance, a man he can do business with, someone who is a strong supporter of Trump and the American government, but is prepared to defend British interests.
“I think that is critical because everything is personal with Donald Trump. So he has to get on with him, but show that he’s a man of substance.”
Sir Mark said Ukraine should also be near the top of Mr Burnham’s agenda, with the Prime Minister seeking continued American support for Kyiv and economic pressure on Moscow.
“If Andy Burnham can do those two things in what’ll be a 20 or 30-minute meeting, he’ll do extremely well,” he said, adding that his own experience suggested “Donald Trump will be doing 90% of the talking”.
The meeting comes with a series of potential points of tension between London and Washington, including Ukraine, Iran, defence spending, the Chagos Islands and British sanctions relating to Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
But Sir Mark said the limited time available meant many of those disagreements were unlikely to dominate the talks.
For the government, the more immediate calculation behind the Saudi deployment is that instability thousands of miles away can quickly translate into higher costs at home.
The MoD said Britain’s support was intended to help defend Saudi Arabia against missile and drone attacks while protecting regional stability, vital trade routes and energy supplies.
“In dangerous times, good friends stand together,” Mr Pollard said. “There’s a morality of being true to our allies.”