Tension in Gulf as Saudi, US navies commence joint maritime exercise in Red Sea

There appears to be subtle tension in the Gulf region as the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) and the US Navy on Sunday commenced joint military exercise known as Indigo Defender-21 on the Red Sea. The joint military maneuver planned for 10 days carried out with Saudi Arabia’s Western Fleet on the Red Sea, raises security tension on the border of Egypt which is globally acknowledged to have territorial rights over the Red Sea.

The US had in the past engaged in similar military exercise in the Korea Peninsula with South Korea which provoked North Korea into threats of war with the neighbouring South Korea.

Another similar joint military exercise by the US in South China Sea at a time China was at loggerhead with Taiwan over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, also provoked China to move its military capability to an Island adjacent to the South China Sea.

The US, this time is engaged in a joint military exercise with Saudi Arabia, a strong country in the Middle East, on the Red Sea bordering Egypt, an African country. However, Assistant Commander of the Western Fleet and Commander of the exercise, Admiral Mansour bin Saud Al-Juaid, who was at the at the opening ceremony of the joint military exercise with Naval Colonel Daniel Bailey of the US Navy, affirmed that the maneuvers will hold for 10 days, saying the exercise is to strengthen relations and military cooperation, raise the level of combat readiness between the navies of the two countries. Saud Al-Juaid also said that joint exercise will encourage exchange of expertise in the field of port protection, clearing land and underwater mines, and contribute to developing security capabilities by protecting and securing the regional and international waterways to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.

There were concerns that Saudi Arabia may building on the US superpower capability to enhance its military capability for encroachment on the Red Sea into the Egyptian border, or it is not clear what the US intention is in the oil rich region.