Eduardo González
The Spanish Government yesterday called for a “global response” to “preserve the rights and freedoms of navigation in the Red Sea” in the face of the “indiscriminate attacks” by Yemen’s Houthi rebels “against commercial and naval vessels.”
“Spain joins the international consensus on the need to preserve the rights and freedoms of navigation in the Red Sea, in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared in a statement. “Navigation rights and freedoms are a shared global interest and protecting them deserves a global response,” it continued.
“Despite repeated warnings from the international community, indiscriminate attacks by the Houthis against commercial and naval vessels continue,” lamented the Ministry, which denounced that, “since November 19, 2023, there have been dozens of Houthi attacks against ships with links to more than 60 countries” and recalled that, “on January 10, 2024, the UN Security Council approved UNSCR 2722, which condemned and demanded its cessation.” “The Houthis must immediately cease their attacks,” the statement concluded.
Spain has refused to send ships and troops to Operation ‘Guardian of Prosperity’, led by the Pentagon to protect shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks. However, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, stated in mid-January that he would be willing to “study” the United States proposal for Spain to participate with liaison officers in the Red Sea mission.
Furthermore, Spain has announced that it will not participate in Operation EUNAVFOR ASPIDES, the new European Union mission to safeguard freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, approved in mid-February at the last EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC). Spain had vetoed the possibility of extending the current Atalanta mission against piracy in the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea, but the decision of the 27 to create a new mission outside of Atalanta has not been enough to change the opinion of Pedro Sánchez’s Government.
