00:04The narrow stretch of water behind me is one of the world's most important trade routes and Iran
00:09and its allies are now threatening to shut it down. The Houthis in Yemen backed by Tehran are
00:15reported to be preparing to close the Bab al-Mandeb strait which is just behind me here. It's a move
00:21that would send shockwaves through the global economy. It's widely seen as Iran flexing its
00:26power across the region, a second front alongside its pressure on the Strait of Hormuz. That
00:32is why the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaya Callas, is here in Djibouti.
01:13I'm on the Italian warship, the Berga Mini, at the entrance to the Red Sea. Behind me, you can see
01:19two warships and another tanker. This is one of the most contested shipping lanes in the world and part of
01:26the EU's foreign policy.
01:26European mission with a single defensive purpose, keeping this route open and the ships that sail it safe.
01:46We are very proud of Operation Aspidas. It's escorting ships here in the Red Sea. We see the crisis also
01:53in the Strait of Hormuz. It's vital that the trade routes remain open and we are doing this work in
01:59Red Sea right now and discussing also whether we can
02:03change the mandate to include mine sweeping. If one trade routes, very vital trade routes is closed, then we need
02:11the other one to be clearly open. And it also has increased the discussions of what more can we do.
02:19We have the Coalition of the Willing for the Strait of Hormuz, but it's not functioning yet. So the question
02:25is whether those ships that have been promised to the operation, the Coalition of the Willing could also be...
02:36So if those ships that have been promised to the Coalition of the Willing because they are just waiting could
02:43be deployed here on the operational speed as long as the Coalition of the Willing is not functional yet.
02:54The requests from the shipping industry are increasing and also depending on the volatility of the things that are going
03:02on in the neighboring countries. This is putting a lot of load also for us and requests. So that means
03:10that we need more ships in order to be able to deliver and cover all these requests that we receive
03:16from the shipping industry.
03:17This is the European Union expressing its strategic interest in maintaining the security and acting in a security role through
03:25the auspices of Aspides and Atalanta here in the Northwest Indian Ocean.
03:29The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz made all the illegal traffic that used to come from the south of
03:36Pakistan to Somalia make it impossible. So the pirates decided they needed money, they needed to go to pirates.
03:42So basically, because of those factors, there is an increase and surge of piracy right now in the Indian Ocean.
03:54European mission down beneath this is simple. It's just to change that to protect the ships that come through to
04:00keep this corridor open.
04:02Seeing this from the air, you understand the scale of what's at stake. What looks like a thin strip of
04:09water is actually one of the most important things to the European economy right now.
04:14What would you like to do?
04:19Together, we are significantly reducing the threat of piracy and contributing to safety and security at sea.
04:28That would not have been possible without Djibouti. Today, we are building on that partnership. Operation Aspides is safeguarding one
04:36of the world's most strategic maritime corridors.
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