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A navy tug pulls the destroyer HMCS Athabascan (top) into its dock at CFB Halifax in Nova Scotia.
US ghost fleets take to the seas – as Canada looks on
The US Navy now has enough vessels to field a Pacific squadron, and Canada is watching closely. The Royal Canadian Navy is nautical miles behind the US, but it’s now looking at unmanned warships, aka “ghost fleets,” as part of its long-term naval strategy.
The key word here, of course, is “looking.” Canada is notoriously slow at procuring military hardware, and it’s well known that it lags behind NATO allies on defense spending. The Canadian Forces are also facing a recruitment crisis and ammo shortage. We’ll be watching for Canadian efforts to procure unmanned ships – but from a comfortable seat with plenty of snacks.
The U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region.
US interrupts another Houthi drone attack
In the latest example of rising tensions between Iran-backed militias and US forces in the Middle East, a US Navy destroyer on Sunday shot down several Houthi-launched drones that were attacking Israeli commercial ships in the Red Sea.
Houthi rebels, who are backed by Tehran, have taken control over much of Yemen through a brutal decade-old civil war. In October, the Houthis declared support for Hamas in the Gaza conflict, launching several missiles toward Israel — and dropping a slick music video for good measure.
In the weeks after Oct. 7, as the US moved more military assets into the region to discourage Iran from escalating, Tehran-backed militias rapidly increased small-scale attacks against US troops stationed in Iraq and Syria, prompting Washington to respond with airstrikes of its own.
The latest incident underscores the risk that the war in Gaza could flare into a regional conflict pitting Israel and the US against Iran and Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, various militias based in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthis in Yemen.
File Photo: The U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Mason pulls alongside a fleet replenishment oiler in the Atlantic Ocean, July 17, 2021.
American sailors arrest Houthi militants
Lost in the good news over a two-day extension of the humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza and the promised release of more captured civilians, is an event that could signal the rising risk of a broader Middle East war. On Sunday, a US warship captured five armed Houthi militants attempting to flee an Israeli-linked tanker they had briefly seized off the coast of Yemen. This is just the latest belligerent exchange between US forces and militants aligned with Iran. As in other cases, two missiles fired at the US ship from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen looked more like a fist-shake than a serious attempt to hurt anyone.
But these incidents are likely to escalate as the Qatari-brokered cease-fire between Israel and Hamas ends in the coming days and the fighting intensifies sharply in southern Gaza. There is no evidence that Houthis and other Iranian proxies are following direct orders from Tehran, even if they share Iran’s view of the war. But if militants begin acting more aggressively on their own initiative, the risk of a deadly encounter that escalates the violence beyond Gaza will grow.
US naval ship in the Taiwan straight
US and Canada sail in the Taiwan Strait
It was a busy weekend for naval traffic in the Taiwan Strait. On Saturday, the United States and Canada sailed two warships in the Taiwan Strait after months of coordination and planning between the allies. This isn’t the first time either country has made the voyage.
The two countries say they are transiting the Strait to send a message to China that the Indo-Pacific is international territory, but China sees the “freedom of navigation” exercises as antagonistic acts that violate its territorial sovereignty.
The US Navy was quick to point out the transit was legal under international law. The ships sailed through open waters beyond the territory of any one country, which is to say beyond China’s borders. It’s no accident that Taiwan, which China views as part of the mainland, is on one side of the Strait. And while neither the US nor Canada recognizes Taiwan’s independence, they insist the Strait must be free and open to global commerce.
The sailing comes as the Biden administration is seeking to de-escalate with China where possible. The White House has made progress on that despite a recent visit by Japan and Korea to the US aimed at joining forces against China. Biden also used the recent G20 meeting to announce a rail and sea project connecting India, Europe, and the Middle East – a move aimed at countering Beijing’s Belt and Road plan.
While neither Ottawa nor Washington intended to up the ante with the recent event, routine naval exercises can have unintended consequences. In June, a near-miss between U.S. and Chinese warships in the Strait escalated tensions between the two countries.
Hard Numbers: Chinese data hack, July 4 massacre, US Navy wants Iran tips, Uzbek unrest, Mali sanctions lifted
1 billion: An anonymous hacker claims to have stolen the police records of about one billion Chinese citizens, almost three-quarters of the population. If true, it could be one of the biggest data hacks of all time — and very embarrassing for Beijing.
6: Six people were shot dead on Sunday after a gunman opened fire on an Independence Day parade in a suburb of the US city of Chicago. It's the first high-profile mass shooting in America since President Joe Biden signed the latest federal gun-safety laws and the Supreme Court ruled that Americans have a constitutional right to carry firearms.
100,000: The US Navy is offering up to $100,000 in rewards for information to help intercept weapons, drugs, and other illicit shipments in the Persian Gulf. The Americans worry about Iran supplying weapons to the Houthi rebels in Yemen despite an arms embargo and the ongoing truce in the country's civil war.
18: At least 18 people have been killed in Karakalpakstan, an autonomous province in the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan, since the government last week revealed plans to limit secession rights in the constitution. If President Shavkat Mirziyoyev needs outside help to end the crisis, he may have to patch things up with regional cop Russia after being lukewarm on the war in Ukraine.
300 million: West African leaders agreed on Sunday to lift economic sanctions against Mali after its junta promised to return to civilian rule by 2024. The sanctions forced post-coup Mali to default on $300 million of sovereign debt so far this year.