Stretched Western Militaries Face Capacity Test as Saudi Arabia Seeks Support Against Houthi Offensive

Western powers are struggling to find the military capacity or political appetite to intervene directly as Saudi Arabia seeks behind-the-scenes support to counter the advances of the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Whitehall officials have acknowledged that sending more UK forces to the region is “not politically expedient” and that Britain “doesn’t have much in the bank”, with military resources stretched. A handful of UK and other Western personnel are in Saudi Arabia discreetly discussing assistance with air defences, as Riyadh seeks to strengthen its ability to protect its territory and vital Red Sea shipping routes from the current Houthi offensive.

Neither Europe nor the US appeared ready for a major new military operation, said Sascha Bruchmann, an analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “I don’t think that the Europeans have spare capacity either. And then there’s not yet any political commitment that translates into a tangible military operation,” he said. The US is also heavily committed to its operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, limiting its ability to rapidly deploy forces to the Red Sea. Western governments are already “quite occupied”, Mr Bruchmann said, with operation commitments preventing diversion.

Former Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe said the US was unlikely to want to open another major military front given its experience. Britain currently has HMS Dragon, a Type 45 air-defence destroyer, in the Arabian Sea alongside the minesweeping support ship Lyme Bay, but Mr Sharpe said there was little else that could readily be sent and “little appetite” in Whitehall for a larger deployment. Mr Sharpe also suggested that in Europe there was “political mileage in saying ‘we're not involved in this, it's not our war’”, though he warned this was a mistake given the impact on fuel prices.

Mr Bruchmann said there was little appetite for a land intervention in Yemen. For now, Riyadh is expected to focus on strengthening forces already fighting the rebel Houthis and shoring up the internationally recognised Yemeni government and its defences. Dr Neil Quillam, an expert on Gulf energy and security, suggested that Saudi Arabia was “heading towards an export crisis rather than a production crisis” and noted that Britain and Europe had limited capacity to respond militarily, though a more muscular European response remains a theoretical possibility.

Asked whether Britain would offer military assistance if requested, Downing Street stated in a release to The National that it would “continue to work with partners to support regional stability”. It is understood that energy was discussed when the UK's Defence Secretary Wes Streeting met Qatar’s Defence Minister.