EU follows in suit of US-UK, to launch naval mission in Red Sea soon

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
31 Jan 2024 13:47

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says that the mission is set to be launched on February 17th, although the extent of participation from EU member states remains unclear.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrel during a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024 (AP)

Sputnik reported that the European Union is gearing up for a mission in the Red Sea aimed at "safeguarding merchant ships" from Yemeni operations.

On Wednesday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell disclosed that the mission is set to be launched on February 17th, although the extent of participation from EU member states remains unclear.

Addressing reporters ahead of an informal meeting of EU defense ministers in Brussels, Borrell alleged that merchant ships face security challenges in the Red Sea due to Yemeni operations.

"I am sure it will be decided. Not all member states will be willing to participate, but no one will obstruct, I hope. The ones that don’t want to participate have to put aside [take a step back] and we are going to be very quickly [quick]," he stated.

The EU mission, dubbed Aspides (in reference to the bronze shields sported by ancient Greek warriors), allegedly aims to focus solely on protecting merchant ships by intercepting Yemeni rockets, with no intention of taking offensive measures against Yemen.

The Yemeni Armed Forces have recurrently emphasized that they're committed to the safety of international maritime navigation while targeting Israeli and "Israel"-bound ships exclusively to build up pressure on "Israel" to stop the genocidal aggression against Gaza.

Later, after the US and the UK launched an aggression against Yemen, the Yemeni Armed Forces announced that US and UK vessels would be legitimate, as per Yemen's right to self-defense.

The EU seems to be exacerbating the conflict by taking such an initiative: evoking operations against EU vessels when they were safe prior if they were complying with the genocide-sanctioning blockade against "Israel".

Global oil prices surge by 1% following escalations in West Asia

Global oil prices experienced a surge on Monday following the spiking escalation of tensions in West Asia, most significantly in the Red Sea, which serves as a primary route for oil transportation.

The instability and consequent irregularity of oil transport follow US-UK warmongering against Yemen and consequent aggression.

Three days ago, the Yemeni Armed Forces targeted a British oil tanker in the Red Sea, which came as a retaliation to the joint British-American aggression against Yemen on January 12.

With the onset of the genocidal aggression against Gaza, the Yemeni Armed Forces enforced a blockade on Israeli navigation in the Arabian and Red seas. The YAF recurrently reaffirmed their commitment to international navigation while exclusively preventing Israeli and "Israel"-bound ships from sailing through the Red Sea to build pressure on "Israel" to stop the genocide against the people of Gaza.

In an effort to allow for an easier and less costly genocide, the US and UK militarized the Red Sea and consequently launched attacks against Yemen. Following the aggression, Yemen expanded its bank of targets to include US and UK vessels, in addition to Israeli and "Israel"-bound vessels.

In response to these developments, oil prices surged, increasing by over one percent (in relation to the two popularly used benchmarks of global oil prices: Brent and WTI).