David Farrar: Good to see NZ supporting allies

Stuff reports:

A statement wednesday signed by the united States, Australia, bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom gave the Houthis what a senior Biden administration official described as a final warning.

“Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews,” the countries said in the statement.

“The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region's critical waterways.”

The US has intercepted 61 missiles. Without their actions, that waterway would be unusable.

Radio NZ further report:

Minister of Defence Judith Collins says it was important to join in condemning attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea because New Zealand is so dependent on supply lines.

This week, New Zealand and 11 other countries issued a final warningto the Iran-backed Houthis, who have carried out more than 20 attacks on boats in the key trade route, that they would face consequences if they did not cease hostilities.

Yemen's Houthis have been targeting vessels in the Red Sea since November to show their support for Hamas amid the war with Israel.

Collins would not be drawn on what those consequences could be, but she said New Zealand must stand with its allies who believed in free access to these shipping lanes.

We are more dependent than almost any other country on shipping supply lines. Nice to see the Government backing the US in this area.

David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders.