In a world where the arteries of global commerce run through contested waters, Britain has chosen to extend a careful hand to Saudi Arabia — deploying RAF tanker aircraft to sustain Saudi jets against Houthi drone and missile strikes. Prime Minister Andy Burnham, speaking on his way to the United Nations, framed the mission as defensive and temporary, a distinction that carries as much political weight as military significance. The decision reflects a broader reckoning among Western nations: that the slow erosion of security in the Red Sea corridor is no longer a distant regional problem, but