have stopped passing through here and are now taking the much longer route all the way around africa instead adding costs and delays. here s our diplomatic correspondent, james landale. the threats to shipping in the red sea is very real. this was an attack by iranian backed houthi fighters last month, storming a cargo ship registered in britain. the militia from yemen claiming that any vessels owned by allies of israel were legitimate targets. shouting. there have also been drone and missile attacks so many that shipping companies are pulling out of the red sea, sending their vessels around southern africa instead. in response, the us secretary of defence, who s visiting the middle east, has formed an international military coalition to protect ships and ensure freedom of navigation. these attacks are reckless, dangerous, and they violate international law. and so, we re taking action to build an international coalition to address this threat. and i would remind you that