The Red Sea can’t be allowed to become a “no-go area” for cargo ships, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said.
The remarks came after British and U.S. warships shot down drones launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Economists have warned that a chokehold of one of the world’s busiest shipping routes could send another inflationary shockwave across the globe.
In an interview with The Times of London, Mr. Shapps said the UK has to remain committed to protecting shipping routes.
“We are committed to protecting British interests [in the Gulf]—vessels sailing under a UK flag, or with British sailors or carrying goods destined for our shores, the defence secretary said.
“We have seen the disruption the terrorist attacks have caused—with major operators including Maersk and BP avoiding the region. We can’t allow any maritime area to become a no-go area, particularly such a vital route. But wider than that, we need to promote a safer world. The spate of illegal attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security.
“The rules-based world order means we have to remain committed to repelling these attacks to protect the free flow of global trade, and I am determined the UK will remain a major player in that,” he said.
Last week, Mr. Shapps said Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond shot down a drone believed to be targeting merchant shipping in the Red Sea.
Mr. Shapps also called for the sustaining of support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, saying “we can literally not afford not to win this war.”
“We are in danger of sleepwalking into an era where we allow the dictatorial autocrats to get the upper hand, and that is incredibly dangerous. There’s almost no price that we shouldn’t be willing to pay today in order to stop that from happening tomorrow,” he said.
Mr. Shapps said sending support to Ukraine is not charity, but “in our own bloody interests.”
“If we allow Putin to win this war by dragging it out and he somehow wins it by exhausting everybody else, then we will suffer the consequences,“ he said. ”And the consequences would be incredibly severe for Europe, for Britain, for the world.
“And the reason I say that is because we know what happens when dictators march across Europe. We know what happens when others look at a weakness, or what they perceive to be a weakness, and that could have implications in the Indo-Pacific or elsewhere. So we can literally not afford not to win this war.”
It comes as a bill on sending more packages to U.S. allies including Ukraine and Israel has been held up in the U.S. Senate after Republicans tied it with border security measures and Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán blocked an EU aid package for Ukraine.
Warning Mr. Orbán, Mr. Shapps said if Eastern European countries “allow one of your neighbours to be invaded, then you put yourself at risk and you turn yourself into a vassal state, like the old sort of Soviet eastern European states, all too quickly.”
The defence secretary also stuck to his previous call on increasing defence spending to 3 percent and said it “possibly” needs to be higher.
“Unfortunately, the world has to now realise that ...We can’t secure our prosperity and way of life by skimping on our basic defence,” he said.
“And that’s why we said we will spend 2.5 per cent as soon we can. I’ve spoken previously about the need to go to 3 per cent and I don’t resile from that at all. I think we need to go to 3 per cent and possibly higher,” he continued.
Mr. Shapps added that he believes the rest of the West will “have to do the same” because of “the reality of a much more dangerous world that we’re living in.”
