🗞️ Why in News On 14 September 2026, Iran-aligned Houthi fighters announced the capture of the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands in the southern Red Sea, and the claim was independently corroborated by international wires. The Hanish group sits about 160 km north of the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, one of the world’s most-trafficked maritime chokepoints, and was awarded to Yemen by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in its 9 October 1998 first-phase award, with a 17 December 1999 maritime-delimitation award completing the settlement. The advance follows Houthi captures, within the same week, of Mokha on the Yemeni mainland and Perim (Mayun) island inside the strait itself. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) puts displacement at nearly 94,000 this month.

What Happened

The Houthi movement’s military spokesperson announced control of the islands on 14 September 2026, and the claim was carried by international news wires the same day, with a 15 September update reporting the displacement figure from IOM. The islands were reportedly held by government-allied forces, which withdrew.

The seizure caps a week in which the Houthis took a cluster of Red Sea positions around the Bab-el-Mandeb: the port of Mokha on the Yemeni Red Sea coast (seized on 10 September), Perim (Mayun) inside the strait (seized on 11 September), and now the Hanish group to the north.

Fact Value
Event Houthi capture of Greater and Lesser Hanish islands
Location Southern Red Sea, about 160 km north of Bab-el-Mandeb
Event date 14 September 2026
Sovereignty Yemen (per PCA 1998 sovereignty award, with 1999 maritime delimitation)
Other Houthi positions in the theatre Mokha (mainland Yemen), Perim / Mayun (inside the strait)
Displacement (IOM) About 94,000 since early September 2026, with Taiz and Lahj governorates worst affected

The Geography: Bab-el-Mandeb, Perim, Hanish

Bab-el-Mandeb (“Gate of Tears”) is the strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the wider Indian Ocean. It is between Djibouti and Eritrea on the African side and Yemen on the Arabian side. Perim island (Mayun) sits inside the strait, splitting it into two channels; the wider western channel (Dact-el-Mayun, about 26 km wide and over 300 m deep) carries the bulk of international shipping, while the narrower eastern channel (Bab Iskender) is used mainly for local traffic. Hanish, further north, is a group of small islands whose largest members are Greater Hanish (Kbir) and Lesser Hanish (Sughayr), together forming the Zuqar-Hanish group.

The strait is one of the world’s principal maritime chokepoints: a very large share of global crude oil, LNG and container traffic bound for the Suez Canal, and thence Europe and the eastern seaboard of North America, transits Bab-el-Mandeb.

The Sovereignty Question: The 1998 and 1999 PCA Awards

The Hanish islands were the subject of a brief war between Eritrea and Yemen in 1995, and the sovereignty dispute was referred to arbitration. The Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague issued its first-phase award on 9 October 1998, awarding Yemen sovereignty over the Zuqar-Hanish group (including Greater and Lesser Hanish), and awarding Eritrea sovereignty over the Haycock and Mohabbakah islands. The second-phase award on 17 December 1999 delimited the maritime boundary between the two states.

The award has been an important reference in international law of the sea, and confirms that any occupation of the islands by an armed non-state actor is a violation of Yemeni sovereignty, quite apart from its wider implications for freedom of navigation.

Why It Matters for India

India’s exposure to the Red Sea theatre is direct.

  • Energy security. A significant share of India’s crude oil and LNG imports moves through the Suez–Red Sea corridor. Disruption in Bab-el-Mandeb, or higher war-risk insurance premiums, raise the landed cost of energy.
  • Trade routing. Indian container exports to Europe and the US East Coast use the Suez route; the alternative round-the-Cape route adds roughly two weeks to voyage time and materially raises freight and insurance costs.
  • Naval deployments. The Indian Navy runs Operation Sankalp, launched in June 2019 to escort Indian-flagged vessels in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz and widened to the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden as Red Sea threats rose from late 2023. It is a national mission-based deployment; India coordinates with, but is not a member of, the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian.
  • Diaspora and remittances. Yemeni and West Asian instability affects the Indian diaspora in the Gulf and, indirectly, inward remittances and NRI deposits.

Wider Strategic Reading

The Houthi advance into the Hanish group is best read as the maritime frontier of a longer, land-based campaign. Two features of the sequence are worth marking. First, the tempo: three chokepoint positions in the same theatre within five days signals a strategy of position, not opportunism. Second, the geography of the gains: a mainland port, an island inside the strait and an island group to the north together give a single armed actor observation and reach over the southern Red Sea approaches, positions that are hard to reverse once held.

UPSC Relevance

GS Paper 2. International Relations: India’s foreign policy, maritime chokepoints, regional groupings. GS Paper 3. Internal security and external threats; energy security; naval strategy.

A question worth preparing. “Discuss the strategic significance of the Bab-el-Mandeb strait for Indian energy security, and evaluate India’s naval posture in the western Indian Ocean in the light of recent Houthi advances in the southern Red Sea. (250 words)”

The Mains framing. The Red Sea chokepoint has moved from a background maritime risk to a foreground national-security issue for India. India’s response is layered: naval deployment (Operation Sankalp), coordination through Combined Maritime Forces, diversification of energy imports (LPG from West Africa, LNG from Qatar under long-term contracts, crude from Russia and the US), and diplomatic engagement with Yemen’s government-in-exile and with Gulf partners. The Hanish seizure raises the marginal cost of the status quo and sharpens the case for the second and third layers.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

Prelims-grade facts:

  • Iran-backed Houthi fighters captured Greater and Lesser Hanish islands on 14 September 2026.
  • The islands lie about 160 km north of the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, in the southern Red Sea.
  • Bab-el-Mandeb connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden; it is flanked by Djibouti and Eritrea on the African side and Yemen on the Arabian side.
  • Perim (Mayun) island sits inside the strait, dividing it into two channels; the wider western channel (Dact-el-Mayun) carries most international shipping.
  • The Permanent Court of Arbitration awarded Zuqar-Hanish sovereignty to Yemen in the 9 October 1998 first-phase award; the 17 December 1999 award delimited the maritime boundary between Yemen and Eritrea.
  • Displacement is about 94,000 since early September 2026 (IOM figure).
  • India’s naval anti-piracy and escort deployments in the northwest Indian Ocean run under Operation Sankalp.
  • The US-led escort mission in the Red Sea is Operation Prosperity Guardian; India is not a formal member of that mission but operates in coordination.

Prelims-grade traps:

  • Bab-el-Mandeb is not the Strait of Hormuz; the Strait of Hormuz separates the Gulf of Oman from the Persian Gulf.
  • Zuqar-Hanish was awarded to Yemen; Haycock and Mohabbakah islands were awarded to Eritrea.
  • Perim (also called Mayun) is inside Bab-el-Mandeb; Hanish is well to the north of the strait.
  • India’s escort role in the western Indian Ocean is not a formal treaty commitment; it is a mission-based deployment.
  • The Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague is an inter-state arbitral body; it is not the International Court of Justice.

Mains, arguments and keywords:

  • Maritime chokepoints and freedom of navigation; the shift from opportunistic to positional Houthi control.
  • India’s layered response: naval deployment, coalition coordination, energy diversification, diplomatic engagement.
  • Alternative shipping routes: round-the-Cape as insurance versus persistent cost premium.
  • Keywords: Bab-el-Mandeb, Perim, Hanish, PCA 1998 award, Operation Sankalp, Operation Prosperity Guardian, IOM.

Interview, be ready for:

  • “Why is Bab-el-Mandeb strategically important?” It is the maritime gate connecting the Red Sea and Suez traffic to the Indian Ocean; a disruption here raises the cost of the entire Europe-Asia container and energy trade.
  • “What is Operation Sankalp?” India’s mission-based naval deployment in the Gulf of Aden and northwest Indian Ocean, providing convoy escort and anti-piracy support; extended after the Red Sea disruptions.
  • “Do the PCA awards still matter if the islands are occupied by a non-state armed group?” The awards fix the legal position: sovereignty is Yemen’s. The occupation is a use of force against a state; it does not transfer sovereignty.

Sources: Permanent Court of Arbitration, Eritrea-Yemen award, International Organization for Migration Yemen, Ministry of External Affairs, Indian Navy Operation Sankalp updates

Source: Houthis Seize Greater and Lesser Hanish Islands in Southern Red Sea, Tightening Grip on Bab-el-Mandeb — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Current Affairs