Spain He maneuvered behind the scenes against the international military mission that the United States wanted to conduct against Yemeni rebels in the Red Sea. But he is not alone: France He refuses to put himself under Washington’s command and single-handedly defends his ships in the Red Sea against attacks by Houthi militias. The same thing happens when: Italy. This is despite the fact that the White House’s initial statement announcing the mission included these three countries in the initial list of official participants. Other traditional allies of the United States, such as Saudi Arabia, also do not want to contribute. What’s going on?
Given the lack of detail in official statements, analysts point to several possible reasons. And they all agree on one thing: Joe Biden’s administration is providing political and military support to Israel in its attacks on Gaza, and placing ships next to its own ships represents a risk and inconsistency. Tel Aviv is leading a punitive operation against Hamas in the Palestinian Strip that has already led to the deaths of more than 10,000 children. Few people want to be seen somewhere Joint mission with thousands of bomb senders To carry out these attacks. Especially Mediterranean countries.
He says for this newspaper: “I think Spain did not join the US mission in the Red Sea for reasons of consistency, because you cannot pressure Israel on Gaza and at the same time participate in an operation directed by Washington.” Leyla Hamad, Yemen expert and author of the book “Yemen”. “The Forgotten Key to the Arab World.” “The message to Arab countries would be confusing“And the best role Spain can play today is as a mediator, because it has credibility in the Arab world.”
Reuters agency states that public anger against Israel’s bloody offensive in Gaza is also a factor explaining the reluctance of many country leaders to participate in the mission, citing a recent survey by Yougov: The vast majority of Western Europeans (especially in Spain and Italy) think that Israel should stop its attack on the Strip.
“European governments are concerned about this situation” some of their potential voters oppose them“, assures the same agency David Hernández, professor of International Relations at Complutense University.
A risky mission
The US administration also indicates that it fears the risks inherent in the mission. Yemeni rebels hijacked or attacked a dozen ships He has been in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait since November 19 in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
“Right now a desire to distance oneself Israel and USAThey don’t want to be seen as a belligerent party, but it is possible for countries to try maintain chain of command “In risky missions that require ships with anti-aircraft defense,” Security and Defense analyst Jesús Manuel Pérez Triana tells this newspaper.
This is exactly the point where Spain’s blockade against the EU, which expanded the Atalanta mission to send ships to the Red Sea, is justified. Operation Atalanta combats piracy in the Indian Ocean. Spain contributes old frigates. They have almost no anti-aircraft defensesThis is essential if you want to defend yourself against an attack with drones or missiles.
On 26 October the frigate Victoria relieved Navarra on this mission. These are Santa María Class ships from the eighties. equipped with basic knowledge: Possibility to carry a 76 mm gun, two side positions with two 25 mm guns, machine guns and a combat helicopter. The analyst points out that these are enough to fight against Somali pirates for which this mission was designed. But Yemenis use drones (remains of an Iranian Witness were found on a ship that was recently attacked) or ASEF anti-ship missiles (versions of the Iranian Fateh 313), with a range of 400 kilometers or other so-called tankel (versions of the Iranian Zohair), reaching up to 500 kilometers. With them, the Houthis can reach some parts of the Gulf of Aden, as well as ships in the Red Sea.
The most modern frigates would be needed to defend itself. “It will be necessary to send a frigate with anti-aircraft defense capability. Five frigates of the Álvaro de Bazán F-100 Class Specialized (with long-range radar and defensive missile system),” says Pérez Triana. “But the top seed is more than 15 years old and they had to go into shipyards to update the software. “In other words, the mission would catch us with the frigates already mature.”
This claim coincides with the argument expressed by the Head of Government himself this Tuesday. Pedro Sánchez justified the blocking in Brussels of the expansion of the Atalanta mission, which aims to send ships to the Red Sea, as follows: “pure common sense”, Because ““The framework of the operation is not the same,” he said, “and the risk and nature of the challenge are different.”
The president did not rule out or confirm whether Spain would participate in a new mission not linked to Atalanta. “Spain Does not oppose the creation of another operation in the Red Sea. We are ready and open to allies, whether from the EU or NATO, to evaluate this operation, although not within the framework of Operation Atalanta.” He spoke about this issue with US President Joe Biden, but neither the tone of voice nor the content of the speech was exceeded.
Allies remain committed to Biden’s power
On December 19, the White House released a statement. international mission with twenty countries The most important shipping companies and oil company took action to guarantee maritime traffic in the Red Sea after BP announced that they had stopped using this route through the Suez Canal. They will surround Africa, which will increase the cost by more than a million euros and the crossing will take place in ten days. It affects 12% of global maritime traffic.
Washington received a request from Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin that Operation Prosperity Guardian will be carried out by the “United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, ItalyNetherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain“.
Spain rejected immediately In the statement made by the Ministry of Defense, it was noted that any participation of Spain must be under the umbrella of NATO or the EU. Italy sent a similar note: the Ministry of Defense of the Government of Giorgia Meloni assured that it would send a ship to the Red Sea at the request of Italian merchant owners, but Not within the scope of US operations. France said it supported efforts to secure navigation in the Red Sea but its ships would remain under French command. One of them has already shot down a Yemeni attack plane.
So right now, only 12 of the 20 countries mentioned by the Pentagon have confirmed their participation in the mission. The United Kingdom and Greece have publicly joined forces, but other allies such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have said they are not interested in the issue.