Saudi lead coalition forces: necessary military action is being taken to ensure the safety of shipping in the Mande Strait

On 21 July, at local time, on 20 July, the Saudi Arabian-led multinational coalition command issued a statement stating that the coalition forces had begun to take measures to protect the passage of coalition-State vessels through the Mandet Strait and would respond resolutely and forcefully to any threat to the safety of shipping, in accordance with international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Coalition spokesman, Turki al-Maliki, stated that the Coalition Command was taking all necessary military action and strict measures to ensure the safety of the navigation of coalition national vessels in the Mande Strait, in conformity with international law and the relevant provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The statement also stated that any threat posed by the Al-Houthi armed forces against merchant ships would be firmly countered as a flagrant violation of international law and an illegal act at sea. (observed)