The Defence Minister says New Zealand has taken a principled stand against Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Middle East.  

New Zealand will send six personnel to the Red Sea, as part of an ongoing US-led mission to strike the Iran-backed rebels carrying out the attacks from Yemen. 

Judith Collins told Tim Dower that the war and the attacks shouldn't be conflated, as the attacks were going on long before the war in the Gaza.  

She says the groups have seized on the war as an excuse to ramp up their attacks.  

LISTEN ABOVE 

• Houthi rebels strike a US-owned ship off the coast of Yemen
• US to 're-list Houthis as global terrorists', say sources