“The European Union, today, asked Italy to provide the Force Commander of the Aspides Operation in the Red Sea (the admiral officer who exercises command on board of the naval assets participating in the operation)”. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto stated this in a note.
“The importance and urgency of Operation Aspides, which will contribute to guaranteeing the free navigation and safety of commercial traffic in the Red Sea, have led the Italian Defense to immediately ensure its support. This is a further recognition of the commitment of the Government and Defense and of the competence and professionalism of the Navy”, he adds.
The Aspides mission in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden “I hope it will be approved by my fellow ministers in the Council on 19 February”, says EU High Representative Josep Borrell, speaking in Brussels at the ministerial conference on the Indo-Pacific. “We are actively working with our international partners to restore safe navigation in the Red Sea – he adds – we are moving forward with work on a new maritime mission called Aspides, a Greek word meaning 'shield'. It is a purely defensive shield, only to protect ships from attacks. Our aim is not to conduct any type of attack, but only to defend. We do not intend to conduct any operations on land, but only to protect navigation at sea”, he concludes
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