Context: With the end of Bashar-al-Assad's regime in Syria, the Houthi rebels have gained importance in Iran's axis of resistance against the US and Israel.
Relevance of the topic:
Prelims: Organisations and location based questions from the middle east.
Mains: Impact of middle-east tensions on India.
What is the Axis of Resistance?
- The 'Axis of the Resistance’ refers to the political and military alliances led by Iran and is composed of state and non-state actors in the Middle-East.
- The axis comprises Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Syrian armed forces, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, certain militias in Iraq, and Houthi forces in Yemen.
- Key goals of Alliance:
- Oppose Israel: The central ideology of the group is to oppose Israel advances in Gaza and help Palestine to gain control over the territory.
- Anti-American: The alliance is against the US military presence and its cultural influence in the middle east. Example: Islamic revolution in Iran demonstrated anti-Americanism.
- Regional Dominance: Axis of resistance focus on the dominance of the Shia sect of Islam, predominantly by creating a 'Shia crescent’ including Lebanon, Iraq and Syria.
- Resistance to Sunni powers: The alliance is focused against the Sunni-majority states including Saudi Arabia, and UAE as they are aligned with the US.
- Means and modes used to sustain Ideology:
- Military campaigns as members are actively involved in several conflicts like Syrian civil war, Iraq fight against ISIS and Yemen's civil war.
- Proxy warfare by helping non-state actors like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF).
- Diplomatic alliance- Axis is focused to counter USA by hand holding alliance with Russia and China for weapons and logistical support.
About Houthi Rebels
- Houthis, originally known as Ansar Allah (i.e. supporters of God) are predominantly Shia Muslims and a political military group of Yemen.
- The group is focused on opposing the USA and Israel. Also, they oppose Saudi Arabia and UAE to favour Sunni sects of Islam.
Role of Houthis in Axis of Resistance
- Opposing US allies: The Houthis attack Saudi Arabia from the Yemen border as it is a US ally in the region.
- Block trade: Location of Houthi is at a crucial choke point i.e., Bal el-Mandeb strait allows them to attack the vessels with short range rockets leading to damage or rise in vessel insurance premium, disrupting trade.
- Symbol of resistance: Houthis continue terrorist attacks on Saudi Arabia and US supported Yemen government to show resistance.
Impact on India due to these regional dynamics:
- Impacting energy security: Houthi attack on vessels can destabilise the Indian supply of crude oil via Bab el-Mandeb and Red Sea.
- Expensive Maritime trade: Indian vessels due to attack by Houthis either take the route of Cape of Good Hope or need to pay heavy premium on vessel insurances. Both make maritime trade expensive for India.
- Safety of India Diaspora: Any escalation in the situation leading to war like situation can risk the safety of 2.5 Million Indians in Saudi Arabia.
- Geopolitical Challenge: Violence and continuous proxy-war will demean India efforts to balance relations with the US and Iran.
- Spillover effect: In case of escalation the tensions may spill to the Horn of Africa making a new challenge to balance relations with Djibouti and Somalia.
What should be India's course of action in these complicated situations?
- India should follow a pragmatic approach with a balance of Idealism containing values like humanity, peace and growth of the region.
- India needs to strengthen trade ties with the Middle East, continuously engage with Iran, ensure diaspora security, build a strong naval presence in the Indian Ocean and diversify the energy basket to sail over the tides of challenges in the region.