Italy greenlights mission to safeguard Red Sea navigation

Italy has officially given its go-ahead for the European mission EUNAVFOR Aspides in the Red Sea to counter attacks by Shiite Houthi rebels in what Alessandro Politi, director of NATO’s Defence College Foundation, says is a crucial step for Europe and other countries.

On Tuesday, the Italian Chamber of Deputies and Senate joined the Democratic Party (PD/S&D), Five Star Movement (M5S) and Italia Viva (Renew) in voting in favour of the government’s resolutions, approving international missions for 2024, including Aspides, Levante (focused on humanitarian aid to Gaza) and the European civilian mission EUAM Ukraine.

“The Aspides mission in the Red Sea is essential not only for maintaining freedom of navigation but also for ensuring increased competitiveness, especially for European industries and companies grappling with unsustainable energy costs,” Politi said about parliament’s approval of the EUNAVFOR Aspides mission.

Launched by the EU on 19 February 2024, Aspides involves military vessels from Italy, Greece, Germany, Belgium and France. The mission’s focus is defensive, as underlined by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in speeches to the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Aspides is limited to executive activities in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, south of the latitude of Mascate, the capital of Oman, and cannot take preventive action.

While the mission’s headquarters are in Larissa, the Italian-led command at sea is on board the Caio Dulio, a warship already deployed in the region but which recently intercepted a drone launched by Yemen’s Shiite Houthi rebels.

In addition to this being the first attack on an Italian naval vessel since World War II, Politi pointed to the disruption to maritime traffic caused by the Houthi rebels, which he said had led to increased freight rates and insurance costs, “ultimately impacting consumers”.

Politi also pointed to the geopolitical implications of the situation, stressing that the persistence of such challenges could complicate the domestic policies of European states, including the UK, which are already struggling with energy crises and high inflation. He stressed that “freedom of trade means lower prices, and that, of course, has a social impact”.

The Italians, like other Mediterranean countries such as Greece, “have interests in the area,” Politi said, recalling that the two countries have two of the most important ports in the Mediterranean: Gioia Tauro and Piraeus. “The operational command recognises this competence not only politically but also operationally,” he added.

Commenting on the mission’s name, Politi said that while the term Aspides refers to a shield in Greek, it means snake in Latin, and speculated that it could mean “we are not only ready to defend, but we are also ready to attack”, but clarified that Europe is not in an offensive posture – especially as the recent airstrikes on Houthi rebel positions were carried out by British and US forces under Operation Poseidon Archer, not European forces.

According to Confartigianato estimates, the risk of Houthi attacks on ships crossing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait cost Italy €8.8 billion in just three months (November to January). Italy’s annual import-export trade through the Suez Canal in 2023 was valued at €148.1 billion, making up 42.7% of the country’s foreign trade transported by sea and 11.9% of its total foreign trade.

(Simone Cantarini |Euractiv.it)