Operation ‘Aspides’: EU’s upcoming Red Sea naval mission to protect ships from Houthi attacks

The European Union has announced its plans to launch a naval mission in the Red Sea by mid-February aiming to protect commercial vessels against Iran-backed Houthi rebel attacks which are hampering international trade and driving prices up.
It’s a purely defensive operation to protect ships from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the bloc’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said Wednesday (31 January). With seven EU countries ready to provide ships or planes, including frigates already committed by Belgium and Germany, the mission should be up and running by 19 February, according to Borrell. The EU foreign policy chief also stressed that it will be a purely defensive operation to protect cargo vessels from Houthi attacks. “We have to decide which country will take the command … where the headquarters will be, what navy assets member states will provide,” Borrell said ahead of an informal meeting of defense ministers in Brussels.
Attacks by the Houthis — a Yemeni rebel group considered a regional proxy for Iran — have been escalating in recent weeks, causing serious disruptions to cargo shipments between Asia and Europe. In December, the United States launched Operation Prosperity Guardian, a naval mission that includes European countries such as the United Kingdom and Denmark. Last week, US and UK forces bombed multiple targets in eight locations used by the Houthi rebels, but Borrell has insisted that the EU mission — called Aspides, meaning “Protector” — will not take part in any military strikes. The ministers were expected to decide later on Wednesday which EU member state should lead the naval effort — France, Greece and Italy are vying for that role — and where the mission’s headquarters should be based.