European Union (EU) foreign ministers will meet on February 19 in Brussels (Belgium) to officially launch a naval mission to protect international ships passing through the Red Sea from attacks by Houthi forces in Yemen.
The Aspides mission will consist of at least four warships. Germany, France, Italy and Belgium have so far announced plans to contribute ships to the mission. The overall command of the mission will be Greece, while Italy will be in charge of on-the-ground control. The EU said the mission will have an initial term of one year, with its mandate limited to protecting civilian vessels in the Red Sea and will not carry out attacks “on Yemeni territory”.
The 27 EU member states have struggled to agree on a Red Sea mission amid concerns that the Houthi attacks could hit the bloc’s economies and push up inflation. According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, trade through the Suez Canal has fallen by more than 40% in the past two months.
Earlier, US and UK forces carried out airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen in response to attacks by the group in the Red Sea. An EU official said it would coordinate actions with the US and other regional forces to ensure the safety of shipping in the Red Sea.
Most recently, a Panama-flagged ship was attacked while off the coast of the Red Sea. A US State Department spokesman said a missile fired from Yemen hit the side of the Indian-owned crude oil tanker MT Pollux, which flies the Panama flag.
MINH CHAU
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