Somaliland’s main role in the Red Sea and the Babel man-dab has been missing from the exercise.

JEDDAH(ANN)- Naval forces from seven Red Sea countries started a joint military drill in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Sunday, according to Saudi Arabia’s official SPA news agency.  

The Red Wave 2 exercise includes forces from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Djibouti, Yemen and Somalia.

  Somaliland’s main role in the Red Sea and the Babel man-dab has been missing from the exercise.

The Somaliland government has previously said it would not accept the construction of the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Babel man-dab if it was not given priority, as it is an important strategic route for the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Babel man-dab.

The exercise “aims to unify and enhance the maritime security of the countries bordering the Red Sea, protect territorial waters and strengthen military cooperation,” Commander of the Saudi Western Fleet Vice Admiral Saqr bin Mohammed Al-Harbi said.  

He added that the drill also aims to enhance cooperation and standardization of military concepts, raise combat readiness and exchange experiences between the participating countries.  

Read: Somaliland welcomes the establishment of the Task Force on the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden by the IGAD

The exercise comes amid tension in the Gulf after drones hit two oil facilities in the north of Saudi Arabia on Sept. 14. 

Yemen’s Houthi rebel group initially claimed responsibility for the attack, but the U.S. has since blamed Iran, as has Saudi Arabia. Tehran has denied any connection to the strikes.

Somaliland is main role in the Red Sea and the Babel man-dab the 89th-largest country in the world by area (176,120 total sq. km). The top 10 countries and dependencies by area are: World, Russia, Antarctica, Canada, China, United States, Brazil, Australia, India, Argentina, Kazakhstan, Algeria.