Brussels wants to launch a bespoke EU mission to protect commercial vessels in the Red Sea from attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

In a document dated January 10 and seen by Euronews, the EU’s diplomatic service proposes sending “at least three” warships with “multi mission capabilities” to the region as early as next month.

The document recommends the “fast-tracking implementation” of an operation mandated to act “from the Red Sea to the Gulf,” in order to protect maritime security in a region plagued by instability in recent weeks.

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Why not let Liberia, Malta, Bahamas, and wherever else those ships are flagged with deal with it? It is the duty of the countries under which the ships are registered to take care of the protection in international waters. How many ships running in the Persian Golf/Red Sea/Horn of Africa region are actually registered to a (non-Malta) EU state or the USA?

    Tell them that if you want cheap, you get cheap.

    • jws_shadotak@sh.itjust.works
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      6 months ago

      Just because it flies under a certain flag doesn’t mean it only serves that country.

      Also, the people on those ships deserve the right to work safely, regardless of who is providing that protection.

      That being said, other countries that rely on these ships should be helping as well. US warships are doing it to prove their weapons and train the crew, but in the end it’s all paid for by the US taxpayers.

      • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        If flies under that flag just to save on taxes and labor laws. The ship owners don’t want safety, or at least they don’t want to pay for it. Let them suffer. Care for the crews, if possible, but let the owners rot.

        • jws_shadotak@sh.itjust.works
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          6 months ago

          The ship owners don’t want safety, or at least they don’t want to pay for it. Let them suffer.

          The ship owners (the company owners) are more than likely not on that ship. It’s just regular workers.

          There’s no way to “let them rot” without risking the lives of the people on the ship.

          I get that Lemmy has a very diehard “eat the rich” stance, and I do too, but make sure it’s directed at the correct people.

        • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
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          6 months ago

          The best way to protect the ship and then take the ship in tow. They can be released in exchange for tax concessions from the Bahamas.

      • HappycamperNZ@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        While its an unsympathetic way to look at it the other poster is correct. Its like saying the EU should pay for insurance claims in China when work is outsourced because its cheaper.

        One of the unfortunate consequences of modern globalization is that we are now starting to move away from multilateralism as each country moves to secure their own interests and citizens… and the massive flaws in the design of the UN security council has left them impotent.

    • AdeptusPrimaris@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      6 months ago

      The US: " we don’t want an escalation of tensions in the middle east." The US then proceeds to escalate tensions in the middle east.

      It’s one of the most glaring examples of disconnect between what they’re saying and what they’re doing that I’ve seen.

      The US is lying about their intent again to no one’s surprise.

      • SomeAmateur@sh.itjust.works
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        6 months ago

        The houthis were launching missiles and drones at civilian ships in the red sea for weeks before these strikes took place.

        If the us/eu goal is to protect said traffic you can’t expect them to do nothing.

        • BombOmOm@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          More than weeks, it’s been going on since November. It’s amazing how some people find it acceptable for Yemen to blow up and hijack civilian ships and are then brazen enough to blame others when a coalition of governments put a stop to Yemen’s missile attacks and hijackings of civilian ships.

          • SomeAmateur@sh.itjust.works
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            6 months ago

            Lol never! Why would I EVER think that the largest military power in the history of mankind would EVER be anything but good?

        • eskimofry@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          The Houthis have made it clear that they don’t want israel to be supplied for their genocide.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    6 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    In a document dated January 10 and seen by Euronews, the EU’s diplomatic service proposes sending “at least three” warships with “multi mission capabilities” to the region as early as next month.

    The document recommends the “fast-tracking implementation” of an operation mandated to act “from the Red Sea to the Gulf,” in order to protect maritime security in a region plagued by instability in recent weeks.

    Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, a raft of drone and rocket attacks in the Red Sea by the Houthis, an Iran-backed rebel group that controls a part of Yemen, has threatened to severely disrupt trade flows into Europe.

    Tensions escalated at the turn of the new year when ten Houthi militants attempting to sabotage a Danish-operated ship were killed by Prosperity Guardian officers, prompting Iran to send in its own frigate on January 1.

    But the request was shut down by Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez, who said the country was “willing” to consider a bespoke European mission to patrol the area and protect Europe’s commercial interests.

    American and British forces, with backing from the Netherlands, stepped up their response to the attacks overnight with the first air and missile strikes in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.


    The original article contains 514 words, the summary contains 202 words. Saved 61%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!