The European Union is reportedly ready to follow the lead of the US and establish its own naval operation to defend commercial vessels in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks.
The EU’s Political and Security Committee has given its initial approval of plans that could see the bloc send at least three destroyers or frigates with multi-mission capabilities to the Red Sea, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
The EU operation would reportedly be acting "in a broader area of operation, from the Red Sea to the Gulf” in line with a proposal put together by the European External Action Service (EEAS) - the EU's diplomatic service. Such an operation would be authorized to exchange "secret maritime information" with the US-led mission Prosperity Guardian.
The EU's new naval mission may be based on AGENOR, a French-led European mission in the Persian Gulf which is the military component of the European Maritime Surveillance Initiative in the Strait of Hormuz (EMASoH).
While no details have yet been fleshed out, the initial plans could be signed at a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Brussels on January 22, as per the outlet. As the EU purportedly seeks to fast-track the process, after approval, the naval operation could be launched by late February.
"The consensus is that we have to act quickly and pragmatically,” an EU diplomat was cited as telling the media.
There has not yet been any comment on the report from the European External Action Service.
The mission will be assembled as the US and the UK carry out air strikes on Houthi targets in northern Yemen. Russia has denounced the US attack on Yemeni territory, with Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova branding them as a sign of "blatant disregard for international law in the name of escalating the situation in the region for their own destructive purposes."
In November, the Houthis announced their intention to attack any ship associated with Israel until Tel Aviv ended its military actions in the Gaza Strip. In December, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the establishment of a multinational operation ostensibly tailored to secure the Red Sea. The Houthis vowed to attack ships that join the US-led maritime coalition.
Last week, the US and the UK carried out air strikes on Houthi targets in northern Yemen, including the capital of Sanaa and the cities of Al Hudaydah, Taizz, and Sadah, claiming the strikes sought to deter attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea.
A member of the Houthis' high political council, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, described the Western attacks as "barbaric terrorism" and "deliberate and unjustified aggression." The Houthis wasted no time showing that the US attacks would not deter them, targeting a US-owned container ship, the Gibraltar Eagle, with a ballistic missile off the Yemeni coast in the Gulf of Aden on Monday. They also attempted a precision strike against the USS Laboon missile destroyer a day earlier.
The Houthis have listed all US and British warships taking part in the campaign against them as “hostile targets.”