Theme: Maritime borders

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro that the bilateral relationship faces “malicious interference” by Filipino politicians and that Manila should be “cautious in words and deeds” on the South China Sea; Lazaro called the Tuesday-night call “frank and constructive,” with both sides defending diplomatic dialogue and managing differences on the basis of mutual respect, in a conversation that followed the Philippine defense secretary calling China a “troublemaker” and the Chinese ambassador in Manila replying that Beijing would not choose force — including, according to a Philippine official, a possible resumption of talks on joint oil and gas exploration in Reed Bank.

Pirates seized the Iranian fishing vessel Azini on October 29 between the coastal towns of Bandar Bayla and Hafun in northeastern Somalia, according to a maritime security officer with the Puntland Maritime Police Force, cited by The Hindu. Twelve pirates took the vessel, which was carrying 21 Iranian crew members and two Somali security guards, according to the Associated Press. The vessel was carrying 23 people, according to the South China Morning Post.

Iran said it has submitted evidence of US and Israeli attacks on its maritime infrastructure to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), according to Middle East Eye.

Beijing expanded its maritime presence around Taiwan, deploying coast guard patrols from the island’s eastern approaches to waters near Quemoy and remote Dongsha Island, the South China Morning Post reported. Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said late on Saturday that it had deployed the patrol vessel Jian to shadow the Chinese formation, led by the Hushi. Taipei denounced the patrols as an effort to “manufacture a fictional administrative presence” and said Beijing’s actions violate international law and undermine regional peace and stability.

The Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat) confirmed that its liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Al Mayeda was hit by unidentified objects while transiting the Arabian Gulf on Friday evening, October 30, 2026. None of the crew members were injured and there was no environmental impact, according to the company. Nakilat said the vessel is operational and that an assessment of the consequences of the incident is under way, according to TASS.

Taiwan’s Coast Guard said China is harassing ships with its latest patrol off the island’s east coast and trying to exert a fictional jurisdiction. Two Chinese ships took part in the operation, and the Coast Guard sent its own vessels to monitor them, according to Reuters, in a text published by The Hindu. The Coast Guard said China’s “attempts to harass ships at sea through radio communications are a clear expansion of power that violate international law, undermine regional peace and stability, and deviate from reality.”

The United States Central Command (Centcom) said that as of October 31 its forces had redirected 144 commercial vessels to ensure compliance with the naval blockade against Iran. In a post on X, Centcom said the vessels were redirected “to ensure compliance” and that the George Washington aircraft carrier was supporting enforcement of the blockade, according to Middle East Eye.

India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said at the G20 foreign ministers’ plenary in Atlanta that military solutions will not work in the face of global challenges and that diplomacy must be given a chance, in a post on X, according to the Hindustan Times. He also stressed the need to preserve freedom of navigation and to ensure the cessation of attacks on seafarers within the framework of international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The British maritime agency UKMTO (United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations) said in a warning issued on Thursday that it had received a report from a company security officer that a tanker was hit by an unknown projectile while completing an outbound transit of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Anadolu. The agency did not identify the weapon, establish who fired it or attribute responsibility to Iran, according to Gulf News.

China’s coast guard carried out an exercise featuring water cannons and drones near two disputed reefs at the center of its simmering contention with the Philippines in the South China Sea, according to the South China Morning Post. The drill simulated a foreign fishing vessel entering the waters of Second Thomas and Sabina shoals for “illegal fishing”.

The container ship Contship Jet, Greek-owned and operated by Israel's ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, was hit by at least three unmanned drone vessels and sank in the Black Sea, according to Globes. The ship had sailed from Haifa, and the 421 containers it carried went down with it. The crew was rescued unharmed. All 18 crew members, 14 Filipinos and four Ukrainians, were taken to the Bulgarian port of Varna, according to Israel Hayom. ZIM said the ship was small, chartered and not owned by the company, that the crew was safely evacuated and that the initial estimate of financial damage is minimal, the company told Globes.

Libya’s eastern-based parliament in Tobruk reversed years of opposition and approved the 2019 maritime agreement between Tripoli and Türkiye, which Greece says disregards the rights of its islands, including Crete, and Turkiye hosted talks between Libya’s eastern and western administrations with the ultimate goal of reunifying them, with no agreement so far.

Libya’s eastern parliament, the House of Representatives aligned with Haftar in Benghazi, ratified the 2019 maritime deal with Turkey on October 20, and the country’s two rival governments now recognize the boundary that runs between Crete and Cyprus, according to OilPrice. The line leaves Greek islands in the area with no sea beyond their territorial waters, and Ankara is pursuing the same kind of deal with Damascus.

Libya’s eastern parliament unanimously approved a maritime agreement with Turkey on Tuesday establishing a direct maritime economic corridor between the two countries. Greece condemned the approval and called the deal a violation of international law.

Taiwan’s coast guard identified the suspected militia fishing boat as Minfudingyu 07902, which came as close as about 2.7 nautical miles outside the island’s restricted waters on August 16, confirming details in a Reuters report, according to The Hindu.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the memorandum signed between Turkey and the government in eastern Libya led by Khalifa Haftar “is null and void, carries no legal effect, and that its ratification by the Libyan House of Representatives entails no legal consequences whatsoever for Egypt”. On Tuesday, Libya’s eastern government approved the agreement with Turkey establishing a maritime boundary between the two countries despite the presence of Greek islands, particularly Crete, between their coastlines. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan rejected the criticism from Egypt, Greece and Israel.

Saudi Arabia struck an Indian boat carrying 14 Indian nationals near Zuqar Island off western Yemen, and Yemeni forces rescued those aboard, according to Yemeni armed forces spokesman Yahya Saree, in a statement cited by Mehr News. Saree posted the information on social media.

Israel condemned on Wednesday a decision by the eastern-based parliament of divided Libya to ratify a memorandum of understanding with Turkey on maritime demarcations in the Mediterranean, the Times of Israel reported. Israel’s foreign ministry said the agreement infringes upon the sovereign rights of its close allies in the region and that, once again, Turkey is working to destabilize the eastern Mediterranean. Egypt reaffirmed that the memorandum “is null” and “possesses no legal effect”.

The China Coast Guard said the Philippines delivered supplies to its warship BRP Sierra Madre, grounded at the Second Thomas Shoal, on Wednesday, “with permission from the Chinese side”, according to the South China Morning Post. Spokesman Jiang Lue said the coast guard carried out confirmation checks and maintained “full supervision” throughout the operation, and that it would keep patrolling and enforcing the law in the area.

Libya’s eastern-based House of Representatives unanimously approved on Tuesday the memorandum of understanding signed on November 27, 2019, with Turkey that delimits the two countries’ maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean, according to TRT World. The memorandum was signed by Libya’s then internationally recognised Government of National Accord. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the decision on Wednesday. “I hope this important decision will be beneficial,” he said, according to TRT World.

China’s Southern Theatre Command said the US warship USS Charleston illegally entered waters off Sabina Shoal without Chinese approval in the early hours of Tuesday, according to Kyodo News. China says it dispatched forces to track and monitor the ship, while the US 7th Fleet said the Charleston conducted routine operations in international waters consistent with international law.

Libya's eastern parliament approved a maritime boundaries deal with Turkey on Tuesday, drawing swift condemnation from Greece, which called it a violation of international law, Reuters reported in a text republished by ThePrint. Athens said the deal “remains illegal, null and void, contravenes international law of the sea, and infringes upon the sovereign rights of states in the region.” In the same report, Turkey's foreign ministry welcomed the Libyan parliament's decision, saying the agreement respected the mutual rights and interests of both countries under international law and the principles of equity.

Libya's Parliament reversed course and unanimously approved the memorandum of understanding on the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction in the Mediterranean signed with Türkiye, according to TRT World. House spokesperson Abdullah Bliheg announced that the chamber also voted unanimously to repeal Resolution No. 1 of 2020, which refused to ratify the two memoranda with Türkiye, and Resolution No. 6 of 2020, which called for severing political ties with Turkey, according to Alwasat News. The memorandum was signed between the former Government of National Accord (GNA) and Türkiye.

China's Southern Theater Command Navy accused a US littoral combat ship of illegally entering waters near Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands without Beijing's approval — dispatched forces to track and monitor the USS Charleston and said the move violates Chinese sovereignty and harms regional peace, in an area contested by China and the Philippines, according to Reuters, in text republished by WTVBAM.

The Philippines has summoned China’s ambassador to Manila after he said Beijing could “easily win” a conflict between the two countries, TRT World reported. Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro conveyed Manila’s “serious concern and strong objection” to Ambassador Jing Quan over his public remarks on October 15, according to the outlet. The ambassador said the Philippines should feel fortunate to have China as a neighbor and that Beijing would not choose force: “If we want to use force, we may easily win. But no, we will not choose force, and we love peace,” he said.

Twelve migrants died on Monday while attempting to cross the Aegean Sea, six of them whose bodies were found after their boat collided with a police vessel, authorities told The Hindu. A baby and four women were among the six people who died off the island of Lesbos in the collision, a coast guard official told AFP. The other six dead — five men and a woman — were on a small boat that capsized off the island of Samos; another 14 people from the boat, one of them a presumed Iranian organiser, were rescued.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, expressed concern over tensions in the southern Arabian Peninsula and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait during talks in Bahrain, according to the Anadolu Agency. The two stressed the importance of maritime safety and the unimpeded passage of vessels through international waterways, according to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry. Both sides also highlighted the importance of continued cooperation within the OPEC+ framework.

Six ships were attacked in 10 days in the Black Sea by drones suspected of being Russian (among them the Able and Chelsea-3), an escalation in a maritime conflict that is pressing on the borders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), according to The Guardian. By Thursday, the attacks had encroached on Romania’s airspace and territorial waters; the Turkish-owned Alfa Watan, bound for the Romanian port of Sulina, had been struck by suspected Russian air and naval drones. Two chemical tankers, Wine Trader and Yara J, were attacked and left burning, and seven more sailors were missing.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his government on Friday (October 16) protested remarks by China’s ambassador to Manila, Jing Quan, calling them “a thinly veiled threat of the use of force”, the latest flare-up in the two countries’ longstanding territorial dispute in the South China Sea, according to The Hindu. Jing said the characterization was “nonsense” and added that the Philippines should feel fortunate to have China as a neighbor: “If we want to use force, we may easily win. But no, we will not choose force and we love peace”.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker was attacked by several people on a skiff off the Yemeni city of Al Mukalla, and that the tanker’s armed security team fired two warning shots, forcing the skiff to alter course, according to Middle East Eye. A southbound tugboat was struck by two unidentified projectiles northeast of Khor Fakkan, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), leaving one person with minor injuries, according to Mehr News; UKMTO said the tug had sustained damage but was continuing on its route, and advised vessels to transit with caution.

Romanian F-16 fighter jets shot down two drones over the Black Sea some 20 kilometers southeast of the town of Sulina, moments after they had illegally entered the country, according to Le Monde. Romania’s Defense Ministry said two Romanian Air Force F-16s engaged the drones, according to TRT World. At least seven cargo vessels were hit by drones in the Black Sea this month, off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria, members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), leaving two people dead and at least 25 missing, according to The Hindu; Romanian President Nicușor Dan said in Brussels that two drones had hit the vessels but did not say whose they were, and warned there would be a reaction from the Romanian state.

Russia said Kiev attacked ships in the Azov-Black Sea region 214 times in 2026, out of 228 since the start of what Moscow calls a special military operation, according to TASS. The same agency reported that Yulia Zhdanova advocated collective international pressure on Kiev as the best way to ensure the safety of commercial shipping in the Black Sea.

A container ship was struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to a report received by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), cited by Middle East Eye.

Argentina’s government said it had filed a request for provisional measures with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) seeking to halt British-authorized hydrocarbon activity near the Falkland Islands, according to The Jerusalem Post. The government said in a statement that the request aims to prevent the United Kingdom from exploiting hydrocarbon resources on the continental shelf of the Northern Falklands Basin.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Moroccan navy vessels entered Spanish waters off Ceuta without permission after late July’s mass migrant crossing, according to Reuters, in a text republished by The Straits Times. Sánchez played down the incidents, calling them isolated.

Russian presidential aide Nikolay Patrushev said in Beijing that expanding natural resource extraction requires Russia and China to jointly safeguard maritime shipping, according to TASS. Patrushev said the two countries can reshape the global geo-economic map and better protect maritime trade against external risks, including military escalation, piracy and sanctions. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday that strategic mutual trust between the two countries has become even stronger, cooperation in all areas is more stable and multilateral cooperation is closer.

Sixty countries supported a declaration on Monday (12) committing to work to preserve freedom of navigation and opposing the introduction of tolls in straits used for international navigation, according to G1. The document was signed by EU members, Australia, Japan and the UK, among others. Since the start of the war between the United States and Iran, the charging of fees for navigation through the Strait of Hormuz has been speculated about.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Monday that it reclassified an incident in the vicinity of Sohar anchorage in Oman as an attack after confirming that the tanker was struck by a drone, according to the Jerusalem Post, in a Reuters report. Indian minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that nine Indian crew members have been rescued and are safe and that two Indian nationals remain missing, with search-and-rescue operations underway by the local Coast Guard.

Three Indian nationals rescued from the merchant vessel MV Royad Mammadov, attacked in the Black Sea on Monday, have left Romania for India, according to the Embassy of India in Bucharest, in information published by The Tribune with data from the ANI news agency. Two foreign seafarers were killed in the attack and the three Indians were injured and rescued by Romanian authorities, according to the same account.

Yemeni government forces are advancing against the Houthis in areas around the Bab al-Mandab strait, but have not yet secured control of the waterway, Yemeni military sources said, according to France24. The Houthis confirmed that government forces had attacked in the Bab al-Mandab area but claimed to have repelled the assault.

The Philippine Coast Guard accused China Coast Guard vessels of obstructing an emergency evacuation, including with a water cannon in an apparent attempt to block a Philippine patrol ship, in a mission delayed by nearly 10 hours that forced the Philippine vessel to withdraw for safety, without the jet hitting the ship, according to the South China Morning Post.

Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia issued a joint declaration after meeting in Egypt's New Alamein, affirming “the principle of freedom of navigation” and saying that “the governance of the Red Sea is the exclusive responsibility of the littoral states”. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed renewed his call for access to the Red Sea, saying his landlocked country will work to secure an outlet to the sea.

A Panama-flagged commercial vessel was hit by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, India's Ministry of External Affairs said. Of the 19 crew members of the MT On Peace, 17 are Indian; 12 were injured, including 11 Indians, and were evacuated to Khasab, Oman. India condemned the attack and called for an immediate halt to attacks on commercial navigation in the region.

A merchant ship has sunk and its crew is missing after a drone attack in the Black Sea, Bulgarian officials say. A second vessel carrying grain was hit within Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said. Its crew of 18 were rescued. The attacks took place at about 03:00 (23:00 GMT), some 70 miles (112 km) off the coastal town of Byala in eastern Bulgaria, and involved air and sea drones, Radev said. The sunken ship was flying the flag of Togo.

Yemen's government says it retook the Red Sea port city of Mocha on Monday, according to the Hindustan Times. The Houthis of the Ansar Allah movement denied the advance of pro-government forces in western Yemen and said they retain control of their positions, according to TASS. The Houthis also said more than 200 Yemeni government army troops were killed or injured in dozens of strikes.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed insisted that his landlocked country must have access to the Red Sea, despite a conflict in the north. In Parliament, he said that, based on the principle of give and take, Ethiopia will work diligently to ensure an outlet to the sea. Four of the five countries bordering the Red Sea — Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia — met on Sunday, according to Al Jazeera.

Forces of Yemen’s internationally recognised government recaptured Dhubab, just north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, along with Bab and Hadeid, under Saudi coalition cover, according to the Times of India. Saudi coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said 100 fighter jets are supporting government forces and that the coalition secured air protection of the strait. The escalation killed at least 959 people and wounded more than 4,200, with about 174,097 displaced inside Yemen, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Yemeni pro-government forces backed by Saudi Arabia say they have secured the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the start of a major offensive against the Houthis, according to the BBC. A Yemeni military spokesman said the Giants Brigades and National Shield forces are besieging Houthi fighters in Dhubab, a Red Sea coastal town, after taking its airport and cutting the road to the port city of Mokha. Houthi-run media denied that government forces had advanced in the Dhubab area. The Saudi-led military coalition said its fighter jets destroyed more than 300 high-value targets in strikes supporting the offensive, according to the BBC.

The British United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said a tanker 11 nautical miles north of Khasab, Oman, was hailed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces and warned it would be targeted unless it turned back, and the tanker complied. The tanker's master confirmed it had complied with the instruction to turn back, according to Mehr News, citing UKMTO.

The Saudi-led coalition joined Operation Yemen Dawn to wrest the Red Sea from the Houthis, according to the Times of India.

The army of Yemen’s internationally recognised government says it has seized control of the Dhubab district and key positions near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Al Jazeera notes that it could not independently verify the battlefield reports.

The British center United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported a possible shelling of a tanker near Yemen’s coast, according to TASS. The report describes an incident 60 nautical miles south of Al Mukha; the Company Security Officer said the tanker sighted multiple explosions close to the vessel. The crew are reported safe and no environmental impact has been reported, and the vessel’s name and port of registry were not disclosed.

At least three tankers were struck by unidentified projectiles in and around the Strait of Hormuz since October 1, according to United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) warnings. In its weekly review released on October 2, UKMTO said 91 incidents of damage to vessels have been reported since February. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is “ironclad” and that US President Donald Trump has “all the options he needs on the table” if Iran continues to “play games” with the strait, according to the Associated Press, in a report carried by the Times of Israel.

Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution on international affairs, advised the United Arab Emirates (UAE) not to challenge Iran’s sovereignty over its three islands in the Persian Gulf, according to Mehr News. He dismissed recent UAE claims at the UN General Assembly regarding sovereignty over Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa, saying the three islands will remain Iran’s forever.

The master of a crude oil tanker reported being struck by an unknown projectile 4 nautical miles east of Oman, according to Middle East Eye, citing the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The British maritime security agency said all crew are reported safe and no environmental impact is currently reported, and advised vessels to transit with caution. Türkiye Today reported, citing a British maritime security agency, that a tanker was struck by an unidentified projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, igniting a fire aboard.

The United States Coast Guard says it has intercepted the cargo ship Grace, carrying fuel to Cuba. The 91-metre vessel was stopped in the Caribbean Sea between Cuba and Mexico on September 5, under suspicion of ghost fleet tactics, according to Reuters, in a text republished by SRN News. A United States team boarded the ship and escorted it to Mexico, where a Mexican Navy inspection confirmed the presence of large quantities of fuel.

A year-old deal between France and Britain to return migrants crossing the Channel illegally on small boats has come to an end, the UK interior ministry said on Wednesday. The deal was agreed last year under Keir Starmer, then UK prime minister, as part of a post-Brexit reset and to ease tension between the neighbours. According to UK figures, some 1,500 people had been returned to France and just under the same number had in turn been accepted by Britain, RFI reported, citing AFP.

Three vessels were struck by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz on September 29, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said, according to TASS. The vessels include a crude oil tanker and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker, according to the Hindustan Times, which also cites UKMTO. There are currently no reports of casualties, and the ships’ names and ports of registry were not reported.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said a vessel was hit by an apparent projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday evening, causing a fire, according to Middle East Eye. According to Mehr News, the fire was extinguished, the crew was safe and the vessel continued its journey. The UKMTO said there was no reported environmental impact and that the extent of damage to the vessel was still being assessed.

Estonian security services launched a reconnaissance drone over the Baltic Sea, including over neutral waters within the airspace control sector, according to TASS. The drone took off from the island of Saaremaa and is flying at just over 1.5 km altitude, outside routes designated for civilian aviation, according to the agency.

QatarEnergy extended force majeure notices and will not be able to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes to Italian utility Edison or some Asian clients while the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, according to Reuters. Edison said QatarEnergy would cancel a further six cargoes, taking the total undelivered shipments to 35. Qatar exported just 18 LNG cargoes to end-August, down from 509 in the same period last year, according to data intelligence firm ICIS.

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) rejected the claim that Iran fully controls the Strait of Hormuz, saying in a post on X that such claims “are false” and that Iran “has no navy because American forces sank it”. According to CENTCOM, more than 1 billion barrels of oil have recently passed through the strait, demonstrating that Iran does not control the waterway, Middle East Eye reported.

The chief of Iran's Army Force for Coordination Affairs says that both sides of the strategic Strait of Hormuz are under the control of the country's Armed Forces, according to Mehr News.

Yemen’s Houthis sent a letter to the European Union (EU) foreign policy arm saying they have no intention of targeting European vessels in the Red Sea, Middle East Eye reports, citing the Financial Times. The letter followed the group’s capture of the port city of Mocha and the Yemeni side of the Bab al-Mandeb strait; the Houthis say their blockade applies only to Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s internationally recognized government, according to Middle East Eye.

India and Liberia announced the creation of a “group of friends” on the safety and security of shipping and seafarers, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), according to The Hindu. India’s Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, called attacks on civilian shipping “simply indefensible”, cited repeated attacks in the Gulf, the Red Sea and surrounding waters, and pointed to two recent cases: an attack two days earlier on an Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulk carrier in the Gulf of Oman that killed an Indian sailor, and an attack ten days earlier on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz that left a crew member missing, according to Firstpost.

European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she discussed with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in New York the diplomatic prospects for ending the war between the United States and Iran and for fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz. “There were no tolls or fees for passage before the war, and there should be none after the war,” she wrote on X, according to LaPresse and ANI. “Navigation must be free and unimpeded, both in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.” Kallas also said she raised with Araghchi domestic repression inside Iran, including the sharp rise in executions and death sentences.

Houthi fighters are pushing to seize the Kahboub Mountains in the provinces of Taiz and Lahij, which separate the Red Sea coast from the government-held south of Yemen, according to five Yemeni military sources cited by Reuters on Monday, September 21. Fighting has centred on the outskirts of the remote mountain district of Al-Wazi’iyah in Taiz and on Ras al-Ara on the Indian Ocean coast, between the mouth of the Red Sea that the group seized last week and the government base in Aden; the aim is to protect the rear of Houthi forces around the Bab al-Mandab Strait and open new fronts, the sources said. Situation Report No. 4 from the World Health Organization (WHO) office in Yemen, issued on September 20, records 674 deaths and 2,998 injuries from August 6 to September 18, and 122,297 people displaced — in 17,852 families, through September 15, across eight governorates — citing Yemen’s Executive Unit for the Management of IDP Camps. The AFP news agency, citing Houthi-affiliated al-Masirah TV, reported that Saudi strikes killed six people in Mocha, including two children and a woman; Saudi Arabia has not commented.

Houthi-run al-Masirah television said Saudi warplanes struck a public market and a school in Dhubab district in southwestern Yemen on Monday, killing at least one person, according to China’s Xinhua news agency. Dhubab lies south of the Red Sea port of Mocha and near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, where the Houthis have seized coastal areas this month. Middle East Eye published footage released by the group that the Houthis say shows the strike; Saudi Arabia has not commented. Yemen’s Saudi-backed army says its air campaign along the same coastal strip targets Houthi fighters and equipment.

UK prime minister Andy Burnham said he has approved air-to-air refuelling support for Saudi jets to help counter the Houthis and keep Gulf oil flowing, his government’s first military deployment, according to The Guardian. He said he will use his first meeting with Donald Trump on Tuesday to press for de-escalation in the conflict with Iran. Britain already operates the Sky Sabre air defence system in Saudi Arabia, and the Houthis have advanced into areas adjacent to the Bab al-Mandab strait, an alternative route for Saudi oil exports.

The British agency United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a tanker was struck by an “unknown projectile” as it entered the Strait of Hormuz on Monday; two crew members suffered minor injuries and the vessel continued to its next port under its own power, with no environmental impact reported. UKMTO did not release the vessel’s identity or the origin of the projectile and said authorities are investigating, according to the Associated Press (AP) and the Anadolu Agency. A bulletin from the UKMTO-linked Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) lists four security incidents involving merchant vessels in the strait between September 14 and 18, three of them caused by unidentified projectiles.

Houthi fighters pushed on Monday to seize strategic heights in Yemen’s Taiz province to cut the Red Sea coast off from remaining forces of the Saudi-backed government, according to Reuters. The New York Times reported that Donald Trump’s administration prepared airstrikes against the group on Sunday at the request of the Saudi crown prince and that Trump called them off at the last minute as bombs were being loaded onto aircraft; Reuters could not verify the report and the United States Central Command did not respond to a request for comment. The Hindu reported, citing sources, that Trump did not pledge military support to Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi in a phone call despite the request.

Aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition struck the Hayfan district of Yemen’s Taiz province, Houthi-run al-Masirah television reported, according to Middle East Eye; the channel gave no details on casualties or damage. The strike comes as Houthi forces advance across western Yemen and claim control of much of the Red Sea coast, moving towards the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s central shipping routes. Senior Houthi official Mohamed al-Bukhaiti told The Associated Press (AP) that the group could fight on multiple fronts if foreign states join the conflict, and that its Red Sea operations target Saudi Arabia. He said US and other foreign vessels are not among the targets. The United Nations (UN) says hostilities in Yemen have displaced at least 125,000 people since the beginning of September, according to Middle East Eye.

The United Nations (UN) special rapporteur on human rights while countering terrorism, Ben Saul, concluded that US airstrikes on vessels accused of drug trafficking in the Caribbean and the Pacific breach international law and may amount to crimes against humanity, according to the BBC. The briefing note released on Monday by the UN Human Rights Council says that since 2 September last year there have been at least 68 US strikes outside US territorial waters, killing more than 220 people, and concludes that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that the reported 68 attacks that killed 223 people constituted crimes against humanity of murder under customary international law”. Saul argues that the targets, even when identified as members of groups the United States has designated as terrorist, had not staged an armed attack on the country that would trigger a right to self-defence, and that drug trafficking is a law-enforcement matter. US Southern Command (Southcom) said two days earlier that it had killed four people in a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean and claimed the operation killed four “narco-terrorists”; the US government has not offered definitive evidence that the vessels hit were carrying drugs. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth says the operation, named Southern Spear, is meant to remove “narco-terrorists” from the hemisphere. On 1 September, UN experts had already called for an end to the strikes and said they may amount to crimes against maritime safety, which would give other countries jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute those responsible.

The commander of the US Coast Guard’s Arctic District, Rear Admiral Bob Little, said in Oslo that Chinese ships sailed in maritime zones off Alaska, passed the Aleutian Islands, entered the Bering Strait and went as far north as the North Pole, according to Reuters; he was speaking at an Arctic security conference and said the United States is “actively responding to competitor activities across an increasingly contested Arctic”. In July, the Coast Guard said it monitored the research vessels Xue Long and Xue Long 2 as they crossed the US exclusive economic zone in the Bering Sea, with the cutter Munro running Operation Frontier Sentinel — the first time this year that Chinese vessels were tracked on that route. The Coast Guard says marine scientific research inside the US exclusive economic zone requires prior US permission.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the British agency that monitors maritime traffic, reported that an oil tanker was “struck by an unknown projectile” during an inbound transit in the Strait of Hormuz and that two crew members suffered minor injuries, according to Mehr News, citing the agency; UKMTO advised vessels to transit with caution.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) says it downed another US MQ-1 drone over the Strait of Hormuz, according to Mehr News and Middle East Eye; the claim comes from the IRGC itself and has no independent confirmation.

Around a dozen vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, according to Middle East Eye and Mehr News; Reuters reports traffic remains far below normal, with ships moving through ‘in a trickle’.