Daily Junction.mobi portal<p>Each enlargement of Brics has lowered the ceiling on what the bloc can agree on and say publicly. Saying nothing at all – beyond expressing “deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in Middle East/West Asia” and calling for “exercising maximum restraint, as well as avoiding actions that could further aggravate the situation” – may be the only survival mode for the bloc.</p>
<p>But a group whose sole remaining source of unanimity is opposition to the US and its allies and that cannot describe a crisis in which its own members stand on opposite sides is hardly likely to become a pole of a multipolar order.</p>
<p>Whether Bab al-Mandab and Hormuz reopen will be settled in Tehran, in Washington, and in the marine insurance market in London. It will not be settled by the 11 governments that spent last weekend calling for maximum restraint.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/291576/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p>
<p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stefan-wolff-95635">Stefan Wolff</a>, Professor of International Security, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-birmingham-1138">University of Birmingham</a></em></span></p>
<p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/houthi-rebels-control-of-red-sea-oil-chokepoint-exposes-deep-divisions-in-brics-291576">original article</a>.</p> </div>