Invasion of Europe news….
Although they say they will arrest and prosecute smugglers they catch, the article is not clear on what happens to the migrants on board.
Longtime readers know that former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told Europe they must do that or suffer the enormous consequences they are now experiencing.
This plan by the UK may slow the flow (a little!) from the North African coast, but I sure don’t see how this will help the present crisis of boats launching from Turkey into the Aegean Sea.
One ship isn’t going to do it!
Where is the Navy to turn them back to Turkey?
From The Guardian:
A Royal Navy frigate is to be sent to take part in a blockade-style naval operation aimed at “boarding, seizing and diverting” refugee boats in the Mediterranean, the Ministry of Defence has said.
The British warship HMS Richmond is to take part in a “more aggressive” phase two of a European Union naval operation operating off the coast of Libya aimed at ending the people-smuggling trade across the Mediterranean.
British defence and foreign ministers gave their informal approval to the EU plan at meetings in Brussels last week, after being told by the Italian admiral in charge of the naval force that 16 boats used by the smugglers could have been seized or destroyed in recent weeks if the new phase had been in force.
HMS Richmond, which has surveillance technology enabling it to operate across a wide area, is likely to be sent to the waters off Libya, where it will be stationed at least 12 miles off the coast. Although it will be able to rescue refugees it comes across, the Ministry of Defence said its primary role would be to board and seize vessels in the southern Mediterranean.
Sounds like just another rescue mission to me.
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