Waseem Abu Mahdi describes a strategic unraveling in Yemen that is happening just as the Houthis are signaling they may return to attacking ships in the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, long aligned in backing forces opposed to the Houthis, are now pursuing competing strategies in southern Yemen. The move has triggered protests by supporters of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), the UAE-backed separatist body that for years functioned as a parallel authority in the south. At rallies in Aden and Mukalla, demonstrators raised the old South Yemen flag and portraits of STC leader Aidarus al-Zoubaidi. Yemeni analyst Maher Abu al-Majd frames the crisis as an extension of Saudi-UAE rivalry across ports, coasts, and shipping lanes from the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea.