The government remains firm in its opposition to Operation Atalanta, launched in 2008 to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia and expanded with U.S. plans to protect ships transiting the Red Sea from attacks by Yemen's Houthis. Militia to protect Israel's offensive in Gaza and the West Bank. “Spain is not against carrying out another operation, in this case in the Red Sea. We have spoken with our allies both in NATO and in the European Union that we consider that Operation Atalanta does not have the characteristics or nature that is required and needed in the Red Sea,” stated Pedro Sánchez clear. The president appeared “open and willing” to take part in a specific NATO mission in the Red Sea, without elaborating.
Sánchez has insisted that Atalanta's mission is to “fight a specific phenomenon, piracy” in the Indian Ocean, which “has nothing to do with the crisis in the Red Sea”, a strategic route through which they have about 10% The Indian Ocean is where world trade circulates and where the pro-Iranian Houthi militia has demonstrated its ability to threaten maritime traffic in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which separates East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula off the coast of Yemen. The alternative is to sail around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, which adds several weeks to the journey.
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“The situation is completely different. “The risk is different and the challenge is complex,” reiterated Sánchez, who wanted to leave no doubt about Spain’s participation in peacekeeping missions under the EU or NATO flag. The president stressed – before embarking on his visit to Iraq to pay tribute to the work of Spanish troops stationed abroad – that Spain is “the country within the EU that takes part in the largest number of military peacekeeping missions within NATO”.
“We have more than 3,000 soldiers deployed in various operations, Spain's commitment to NATO and the EU is absolute, but we understand that the framework of Operation Atalanta and the Red Sea is not the same.” If you want to start this operation, “That’s okay,” he emphasized in his end-of-year review. Spain plays a fundamental role in Operation Atalanta, as its headquarters is at the Rota base (Cádiz) and its manager is the Spanish Vice Admiral Ignacio Villanueva Sánchez. The Spanish frigate Victoria is also the only one to own it. It does not even have a maritime patrol aircraft as its deployment in the region depends on the monsoon season.
The Ministry of Defense made Spain's position clear on December 23 in a statement in which it called for the establishment of a special mission for the Red Sea in response to the Houthi attacks with “own” and Union-agreed objectives. outside of Operation Atalanta. The Defense Ministry denied that the government had vetoed the operation in the Red Sea and insists that Spain “is and always will be a serious and reliable ally of the EU, NATO and the United Nations” and that it is therefore its Commitment to the EU, NATO and the United Nations Peace “is complete and absolute.”
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However, the ministry led by Margarita Robles defends that “to achieve the maximum effectiveness that should be sought in the Red Sea, a new and specific mission is required, with its own scope, means and objectives, agreed by the relevant EU bodies ” “Any mission in the Red Sea to ensure maritime security must be specific and have a dedicated unit involving the naval forces of the European countries wishing to take part, and not be a mere extension of Operation Atalanta” , the Defense Ministry concluded.
The US-sponsored military operation to ensure freedom of navigation through the Red Sea has raised unexpected tensions between Madrid and Washington. The government was dissatisfied when Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin last week and without prior notice listed Spain among 10 countries that would take part in the Washington-sponsored Operation Guardian of Prosperity. Government spokeswoman Pilar Alegría publicly denied this and assured that Spain would not “unilaterally” participate in the coalition. Defense made it clear that it could do this, but “within the framework of NATO or the European Union.”
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