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Houthi Aggression Offers U.S. a Chance to Stand for Freedom of Navigation

(The Hill) Timothy Perry - Since November, Houthi rebels have repeatedly attacked commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea. The U.S. response now includes missile strikes against Houthi assets. The risk of escalation is real, but the potential cost of inaction is equally high. The U.S. must maintain a proportional but sustained military response to Houthi aggression. Whether they intend it or not, Houthi missiles have struck at a key pillar of the international order that affects all nations: freedom of navigation. Freedom of navigation entitles all countries' vessels to traverse the globe in peace, free from interference. It is both a driver of international free trade and a manifestation of the idea that the world's oceans and international straits lie beyond the reach of any single nation's sovereign control. For the U.S. to moderate its response to such flagrant Houthi assaults would risk signaling that freedom of navigation is elastic - subject to the might of global powers rather than the right of all nations. Yet the Houthis may have handed the U.S. and its Western allies a strategic opportunity. Freedom of navigation is as well-established a right as any in international law. The case against the Houthis is thus cut and dried. By visiting measured, proportional strikes against Houthi infrastructure, the U.S., its allies and its partners can draw a clear line in defense of freedom of navigation. The writer is an experienced lawyer, former federal prosecutor, government official, and law professor.
2024-01-19 00:00:00
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