Australia rebuffs U.S. request for warship in Red Sea

CANBERRA, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has announced that it will not send a warship to the Red Sea but will deploy additional troops to the region.

Richard Marles, the minister for defence, on Thursday said the Australian government had denied a request from the United States for military hardware to help protect shipping lanes in the Red Sea following attacks from Yemen's Houthi militia on commercial vessels in the area.

Instead, he said that additional Australian Defence Force (ADF) officers would be deployed to the Combined Maritime Force (CMF) headquarters in Bahrain in 2024.

"We won't be sending a ship or a plane," Marles told Sky News Australia television.

There are currently five ADF personnel based at CMF headquarters. Under Operation Manitou Australia had previously committed to sending five more officers to promote maritime security and stability.

Marles said on Thursday that another six would now also be deployed under the U.S-led Operation Prosperity Guardian, taking the total contribution to 16 officers.