Attacks by Houthi pose big threat to free trade, says UK navy's chief

The Red Sea area, where Iran-backed Houthi rebels are attacking commercial shipping, presents some significant challenges in the maritime domain and the developments there pose a major threat to free economic trade around the world, Admiral Ben Key, head of the UK's Royal Navy, said on Friday.

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"It is actually a form of sea denial against people who have every right to use the high seas for the peaceful purpose of trade and mutual benefit between nations, which is well established within the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). And that is what they are threatening," he said on the margins of the Raisina Dialogue 2024.