War Like Thisandtrica and securitywMaritime: What MowMozambique can learn from the Houthi case in the Iandmen

Alberto Mudjadju"

Contemporary warfare is undergoing profound transformations. Conventional military superiority remains important, but it no longer constitutes, by itself, a guarantee of control over strategic space. The emergence of non-state actors adopting relatively accessible technologies, adaptability, and knowledge of the terrain demonstrates that militarily inferior forces can produce strategic effects far exceeding their size. The case of the Houthis in Yemen is a relevant example of this transformation. From a limited geographical position, the movement managed to project the effects of the conflict beyond Yemen's borders, affecting maritime security in the Red Sea, international trade, and the strategic calculations of major powers. The Bab el-Mandeb, the strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, has become a space of high strategic importance. The question for Mozambique is not whether a similar Houthi threat exists in the Mozambique Channel. The question is what strategic lessons a coastal state can draw from the Red Sea experience to strengthen its own maritime security. Asymmetric warfare is characterized by the existence of significant differences between those who...theThe conflict arises in terms of resources, organization, or military capacity. However, asymmetry does not necessarily mean the incapacity of the weaker actor. This actor may avoid direct confrontation and exploit the adversary's vulnerabilities, seeking to increase its costs, create uncertainty, and affect its freedom of action. The Houthi case demonstrates this logic. The Houthis employ missiles, drones, and other capabilities to produce political, economic, and psychological effects on militarily superior adversaries. This phenomenon confirms that military power and strategic effect are not necessarily equivalent. For Mozambique, the main point to consider is that maritime security must consider not only the size of available resources but also the capacity to detect threats, protect critical assets, and respond rapidly. The Houthi experience demonstrates that geography remains a fundamental element of strategy. Bab el-Mandeb is located in one of the main maritime passages of the international system. Its importance stems from its position within trade, energy, and transport networks. Attacks against navigation in the Red Sea have demonstrated that a regional actor can affect the decisions of international companies, governments, and foreign naval forces. The International Maritime Organization monitors the situation in the Red Sea as a matter of navigational safety and the stability of maritime trade. The lesson for Mozambique is straightforward: the strategic importance of the sea depends not only on what exists within national waters, but also on what circulates through them. The Mozambique Channel should be understood as a strategic space within the Indian Ocean. The experience of the Red Sea shows that commercial vessels can constitute strategic targets even when they do not directly belong to the military forces involved in the conflict. The US maritime advisory of 2026 recorded threats associated with drones, unmanned surface vehicles, unmanned underwater vehicles, missiles, and explosive vessels. The strategic significance is profound: contemporary warfare can affect a state not only by destroying its armed forces, but also by disrupting its economy, supply chains, and critical infrastructure. Therefore, maritime security must involve defense and security forces, maritime authorities, ports, businesses, intelligence services, and coastal communities.

Mozambique has an extensive coastline on the Indian Ocean and a position that gives the sea importance for sovereignty and economic development. The Mozambique Channel is a strategic space, associated with commercial circulation, natural resources, energy, and port activities. The national response must consider maritime security as part of economic security and sovereignty. Strengthening surveillance, institutional coordination, and maritime situational awareness constitutes an important dimension of the national strategy. (1) One of the greatest lessons from the Red Sea is the importance of knowing what is happening in maritime space before responding to a threat. It is not enough to have patrol means; it is necessary to know who is navigating, where they are navigating, what type of vessel they are using, and whether there are abnormal behaviors. Mozambique has made progress in this area. In 2026, the International Maritime Organization reported that the country had completed a roadmap to strengthen the National Maritime Information Sharing Centre, aimed at improving maritime situational awareness, inter-institutional coordination, and information sharing. The greater the ability to detect suspicious behavior in advance, the less likely the adversary is to exploit surprise. (2) No single institution can guarantee maritime security. The protection of the sea requires the combined capabilities of defense and security forces, maritime police, port authorities, intelligence services, immigration, fisheries, customs, and transport. The International Maritime Organization reported in 2026 that Mozambique was making progress in strengthening national maritime security coordination. This approach is important because contemporary maritime threats are multidimensional, potentially involving illegal fishing, trafficking, smuggling, piracy, terrorism, or transnational crime. (3) A characteristic of contemporary warfare is the increased accessibility of technologies such as drones, sensors, communication systems, and unmanned platforms. This does not mean copying the Houthi model, but understanding that relatively accessible technologies can improve surveillance, reconnaissance, and response. For Mozambique, the principle should be the adoption of technology suited to the specific needs of the operational environment, integrated into information and communication systems capable of transforming data into decisions. (4) Maritime security does not end at the coastline. Ports, terminals, energy facilities, naval bases, offshore platforms, fuel depots, and submarine cables are important components of national security. The existence of natural gas projects and port infrastructure in Cabo Delgado reinforces the need to integrate maritime protection into the defense of critical infrastructure. A maritime threat can produce economic consequences far beyond the point where the incident occurs.(5) Maritime safety also begins in coastal communities. Fishermen and residents have direct knowledge of movements and activities in the maritime space. An integrated strategy can transform this knowledge into a complementary source of warning. Community participation must be built with respect for the rights of the populations and without indiscriminate criminalization. Integrated communities can contribute to prevention, especially in areas where institutional presence is limited.

The Houthi experience in the Red Sea is an important manifestation of the transformation of contemporary asymmetric warfare. A non-state actor does not need to possess a navy comparable to that of a major power to produce international effects. The combination of strategic geography, technology, intelligence, adaptation, and exploitation of vulnerabilities can generate significant costs. For Mozambique, the main lesson is not to indiscriminately militarize the Mozambique Channel. It is to understand that maritime security must be treated as a matter of sovereignty, economy, defense, development, and human security. The country needs to continue strengthening maritime situational awareness, information sharing, institutional coordination, coastal surveillance, protection of critical infrastructure, and regional cooperation. Contemporary warfare demonstrates that the distance between a local conflict and an international crisis can be small when the conflict occurs along a strategic maritime route.

2025/12/3