14 countries join forces under Saudi leadership... Details of the new multinational maritime defense alliance
The founding countries of the “Multinational Defense Maritime Alliance” agreed to establish it as a purely defensive framework with the aim of protecting freedom of navigation and securing international trade routes and energy supply lines in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, at the conclusion of an international meeting hosted by Riyadh on Thursday, July 30, 2026, in which chiefs of staff and representatives of 43 countries participated, in addition to the European Union delegation, out of 51 countries and organizations that were invited.
The joint declaration, issued by the Saudi Ministry of Defense, stipulated that the Kingdom be named a founding and leading state of the coalition, and that it be its permanent headquarters, provided that the Joint Command, the Command and Control Center, the Joint Maritime Operations Center, and the General Secretariat would be established on its territory, as the main executive bodies of the coalition.
The founding countries also agreed to enhance cooperation among themselves in the areas of information and intelligence exchange, operational planning, joint training, benefiting from lessons learned, capacity building, and implementing joint maritime operations, in accordance with the provisions of the Alliance Charter, which is still being finalized. In return, these countries agreed that participation in operational activities would remain a “sovereign decision” for each member state in accordance with its national laws, and that each party would complete its internal procedures necessary for formal accession to the Charter in accordance with its own constitutional and legal frameworks.
The statement stressed that the coalition is “purely defensive, and does not target any country, coalition, or international organization,” and that all its activities will be carried out in full compliance with international law and respect for the sovereignty of states, while leaving the door to joining open to any country that shares the coalition’s goals and principles.
The founding countries so far, according to what was reported by foreign media, include: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia, while additional countries that have expressed their support are completing their national procedures to officially join the coalition charter.
The coalition announcement comes in light of escalating tensions in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait. On July 20, 2026, the Houthi group in Yemen announced the imposition of what it described as a “naval blockade” on Saudi Arabia, in response to what it calls a “blockade” imposed on Yemen. On July 29, the Egyptian port of Damietta on the Mediterranean witnessed a drone attack targeting two gas storage and transfer ships, without any party claiming responsibility for the attack to date.
– A Houthi Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) struck and sank the MSV Faez Noor Awliya, an Indian-flagged tanker, in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Indian and Yemeni authorities confirmed the sinking, and informed that the crew of 14 was rescued and transfered to Mokha port in Yemen.
