Vantage | Why Europe plans to send its own warships to Red Sea

The European Union is suddenly worried about the Red Sea. So Brussels is preparing an armada. The EU’s political wing has approved the proposal, which aims to send warships to the Red Sea. EU diplomats are hoping to set up the mission by February 19, and that’s when EU foreign ministers will meet. Until then, it is backroom work, like pushing the proposal through parliaments, deciding who will send warships, and also picking the mission leaders. Reports say the big three—France, Germany, and Italy—will kick things off. France and Italy already have warships in the Red Sea, and Germany is sending a frigate; there are chances that more deployments will follow. But who will command this armada? Will they submit to the US-led coalition? Initial reports deny this. This is going to be a 100 percent European mission. The money will come from the EU. The warships will come from the EU, and its leaders will be in command. Which brings us to the scope of this mission: Is it to patrol, protect, or attack? Again, there is no clarity. It is because the EU is divided.

Last week, the US and the UK launched missiles at Houthi targets. As many as 10 nations supported that mission. Among them were Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark. But other EU members stayed away, which included Italy, Spain, and France. “France decided not to join a coalition that sought to carry out, or had carried out, pre-emptive strikes against the Houthis on their soil. Why? Precisely because we have a stance that seeks to avoid any escalation, but we are present to preserve the freedom of navigation,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. So Macron won’t support strikes; he wants to defend against the Houthis, not attack them. Honestly, it is a tough call. If you attack the Houthis, you get a target on your back. Just look at the Americans and the British; they hit back against the Houthis, but now their ships are being targeted. “The Yemeni (Houthi) armed forces consider all American and British warships and vessels participating in the aggression against our country as hostile targets within the bank of targets of our forces,” said Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea. So attacking is risky, but so is standing by. The Red Sea is an important trade route. It carries around 12 percent of global trade and also 40 percent of trade between Asia and Europe. A lot of that is energy supply. Europe used to buy gas from neighbouring Russia, but after the Ukraine war, that stopped. So the EU looked elsewhere, like Qatar, for example. Qatar shipped 75 million metric tonnes of Liquified Natural Gas in 2023. Out of this, 14 million went to Europe. But now, there’s a problem: Qatar is ditching the Red Sea. Its state-owned firm, Qatar Energy, won’t use the route anymore. It wants to wait and watch how the situation evolves. If the attacks continue, ships could sail around Africa, which means more time and more cost, and this has spooked Europe. Days later, the EU is preparing an armada. That tells you: Brussels is spooked. It is not just energy. Most goods coming from Asia could become expensive, like coffee. Europe’s coffee beans come from Vietnam and Indonesia—they take the Red Sea route—but now the container prices are surging. It’s almost 150 percent higher on the Asia-Europe route. As a result, the EU is looking elsewhere, like Brazil and Uganda; despite that, the outcome is the same, and that is more expensive coffee. Imagine this happening to all consumer goods; this can result in higher inflation, and that’s what Europe is scared of. Europe has spent most of 2023 battling inflation. Some countries, like Germany, are in recession. So Europe can’t afford more inflation. It needs seamless trade. This also has a lesson in strategic dependence. Europe first bet on Russia; around 40 percent of its gas was sold by Moscow. But when Putin invaded Ukraine, that bet unravelled. Europe’s gas prices shot up. And now the same thing is happening again. Most European ports depend on the Red Sea. As a result, trade is down; EU exports dropped 2 percent in December, while imports fell 3.1 percent. Which is why Europe is deploying warships. It will add to the military’s muscle in the Red Sea. But will it deter the Houthis? There are no indications of a climb-down yet. So whether the European armada is there or not, the danger remains. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.