US-led Houthi strikes expose EU’s confusion over Red Sea crisis
US-led strikes against the Houthis in Yemen have highlighted the EU’s confused response to the Red Sea crisis as the bloc’s diplomats met yesterday in Brussels to discuss a mission to protect international shipping in the region.
“There is clearly a need for some sort of protection of international shipping in the Red Sea,” an EU diplomat told The National.
The EU’s response to the conflict in Gaza has been weakened by internal divisions.
They have continued as the conflict expands to the Red Sea after the Houthis announced they would attack what they claim are Israeli-linked commercial ships to try to pressure Israel into a ceasefire in Gaza.
This has caused ocean freight rates to increase as many ships choose a longer route around South Africa.
In response to about 30 Houthi attacks since November, the US launched Operation Prosperity Guardian, a naval mission to the Red Sea.
The coalition of more than 20 countries aims to deter attacks by intercepting drones and escorting commercial ships. But, some EU countries, such as Spain, said they would not join the mission.
“The EU could decide … in a few days’ time that there should be a mission,” Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles said on Friday.
“We do not yet know the scope if that mission is approved, but in the meantime, Spain’s position out of a sense of responsibility and commitment to peace is not to intervene in the Red Sea.”
Other EU countries, including Denmark and the Netherlands, have proved stronger backers of the US response in the region.
Both joined the naval mission and publicly supported Thursday’s US and UK bombardments on Houthi military sites, which were followed by more US strikes.
Germany is not part of Operation Prosperity Guardian but provided political support to the strikes.
“The violent attacks by the Houthis on civilian merchant ships are a flagrant breach of international law and massively interfere with the security of international shipping and the freedom of navigation,” a representative of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs told The National.
“They endanger global trade routes and harm German and international security interests. They are completely unacceptable and must stop immediately.”
The representative confirmed that EU countries were “currently discussing options for a defensive EU mission to protect international shipping and freedom of navigation for maritime security in the Red Sea”.
France, the EU country with the most military influence in the Red Sea, seems to have tried to strike an uneasy middle ground.
The French Foreign Affairs Ministry on Friday condemned the Houthis but made no mention of the overnight US and UK strikes. This appeared to be an attempt at indicating that its non-participation in the military operation did not imply support for the Yemeni group, said Michel Duclos, the former French ambassador to Syria.
“Paris probably believes that strikes would encourage further escalation without solving the issue, while also feeding into the perception that Israel is favoured by the West,” Mr Duclos told The National.
“This proved partly right. The US has had to continue bombarding Yemen.”
A lack of endorsement of the US military response in the Red Sea by countries in the region, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, might also be one of the reasons behind the hesitation of France and other EU countries, he said.
Analysts say the Houthi attacks are an opportunistic move aimed at raising the group’s profile. Many of its drones fail to reach their target, which is often chosen based on erroneous information linking it to Israel, said UAE-based Admiral Emmanuel Slaars, joint commander of French forces in the region. Admiral Slaars said France was part of Operation Prosperity Guardian but retained control over its forces and that there was “no subordination” to the US.
“There seems to be a desire among Europeans to distance themselves to the US administration’s response to the [Gaza] conflict,” said Jean-Loup Samaan, senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore.
For the first time, the Houthis on Monday attacked a US warship, but the missile was shot down by an American fighter jet.
Qatar has paused sending liquefied natural gas through the Red Sea, Bloomberg reported. Qatar LNG accounted for about 13 per cent of Western European consumption last year.