Two Dutch soldiers, one Italian frigate for US led-coalition
4 Min Read
So far, European contributions to Operation Prosperity Guardian are less than impressive, or substantial.
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The US Navy destroyer USS Carney transits the Suez Canal on October 18, 2023. (US Navy photo)
After the United States announced "Operation Prosperity Guardian" in response to the operations being carried out by the Yemeni people in support of occupied Palestine and the people of Gaza, some nations have announced their contributions to the US plan, and it does not look as generous as Washington may have hoped for.
The US operation was announced under the guise of securing maritime trade routes, and the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain will be among the countries jointly working with the Pentagon under the coalition.
Calling Yemen's attacks "reckless", Lloyd Austin invited dozens of nations to take steps to address the operation and called Yemen's actions "a serious international problem" that needs "a firm international response," which, as revealed earlier, will bring "together multiple countries."
On his part, White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby said, commenting on the countries that make up the coalition, "I would let every nation who is a member, whether they wanted to acknowledge or not, speak for themselves.'
"It's a coalition of the willing and each nation has to decide for itself whether it's going to participate and under what circumstances. We respect that. The whole idea here is protecting sovereign assets and sovereign rights and that's what we're doing," he further claimed.
In response to the coalition, Yemeni Ansar Allah senior official Mohammed Ali al-Houthi announced Yemen would be targeting the vessels of countries that joined the US anti-Yemen naval coalition in the Red Sea.
"The vessels of those countries that will actively take part in the actions against us will be attacked by us in the Red Sea," Mohammed Ali al-Houthi told Al-Alam broadcaster.
Following a morning call of 20 international defense ministers chaired by Austin, Britain stated it would send the warship HMS Diamond, and Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren revealed the Netherlands would deploy two staff officers.
Ollongren posted on X that she thanked Austin for his role and for leading the effort and announced the contribution while speaking to him.
"Under US leadership, NL and many likeminded partners are joining forces to secure free and safe navigation," Ollongren added.
The attacks on shipping in the Red Sea undermine freedom of navigation and are a serious threat to ships and crews. Under US leadership, NL and many likeminded partners are joining forces to secure free and safe navigation. (1/2)
— Kajsa Ollongren (@DefensieMin) December 19, 2023
Italy dispatches 1 frigate, considers prospective second vessel
On its end, Italy has announced dispatching a drone-carrying frigate to the Red Sea.
According to La Repubblica, the Virgilio Fasan multifunctional frigate will set sail for the Eastern Mediterranean before Christmas, sailing through the Suez Canal.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto was slated to meet with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday to discuss the mission's specifics and the prospective participation of a second Italian vessel.
It would seem that for such a "serious international problem," one would expect much more contribution from the US allies.
Could it be that Europe, having witnessed Volodymyr Zelensky's massive let-down from the US and having suffered terrible economies and internal disputes after the war in Ukraine, has finally learned that following the US blindly can have detrimental effects on their nations?
The US may have a vested interest in "Israel" and seek every way possible to protect its ally, but Europe may be much more vigilant about its support for the Israeli occupation.
When seeing how minimal the support from Europe is, one can expect that the US loyal neighbor Canada, will contribute much more significantly. However, according to CTV, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) will only send three staff officers as early as next week under mission Artemis, the CAF mission dealing with security in Middle Eastern waterways, according to Minister of National Defense Bill Blair.
The next time Ansar Allah undertakes an operation in the Red Sea, maybe they will be derailed by Canada's three staff officers.
Other nations have yet to announce their contributions.
Meanwhile, Sanaa vowed that no ships bound for the Israeli occupation entity nor any Israeli vessels would be allowed to pass through the Red Sea until needed aid is allowed to enter Gaza as the stifling Israeli blockade on the Strip continues to claim more lives and worsen the living conditions of the Palestinian people amid the ongoing aggression.
