he Royal Navy faced further embarrassment on Thursday as more European countries sent warships to the eastern Mediterranean that will arrive before Britain’s HMS Dragon.
Military minnows the Netherlands and Spain confirmed their frigates will protect Cyprus, where the RAF Akrotiri base remains vulnerable. France, Italy and Greece are also dispatching warships.
Emmanuel Macron has confirmed his country’s aircraft carrier the Charles de Gaulle will be re-routed from the Baltic to Cypriot waters. The French frigate the Languedoc, equipped with anti-missile and anti-drone systems, will also deploy.
While a pair of Wildcat helicopters are expected to arrive in the region on Friday, the most significant British reinforcement to land in Cyprus was the Defence Secretary John Healey accompanied by a journalist from Labour’s favourite newspaper The Guardian.
Mr Healey refused to rule out British troops being drawn into the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran, but would not speculate on future commitments as he visited RAF Akrotiri.
He was forced to take cover as another warning of Iranian drones was sounded – following an attack on the base on Sunday evening. According to Cypriot officials, this attack, which damaged the runway and a hangar, was carried out by Iran-backed Hezbollah forces in Lebanon. They appeared to be targeting US bombers in a separate part of the base.
Mr Healey said: ‘It is the nature of conflict that you never know what might develop and we are hugely strengthening our defences.’
Mr Healey flew from the UK overnight following intense criticism from the Cypriot government and Middle East allies over Britain’s response to the Iran crisis.
Spain confirmed on Thursday its most advanced warship, the frigate Cristobal Colon (pictured on March 5) will join the task force
On the BBC’s Newsnight programme, Cypriot high commissioner Dr Kriacos Kouros criticised the level of information sharing with residents after the attack on RAF Akrotiti. He said: ‘The people are disappointed. The people are scared. The people could expect more.’
Spain confirmed on Thursday its most advanced warship, the frigate Cristobal Colon will join the task force. The Netherlands also is expected to deploy its air defence and command frigate Evertsen.
French president Emmanuel Macron said France, Italy and Greece will ‘co-ordinate the dispatch of military assets’ to Cyprus. Britain’s destroyer Dragon is not due to sail until next week.
The Spanish frigate “Cristóbal Colón” (Christopher Columbus) sent to Cyprus on Thursday “is part of a European mission, made up of European partners,” said Spanish Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with Parliament, Félix Bolaños, arriving at the Council of Justice Ministers in Brussels on Friday morning, underlining that it was redirected from a mission in the Baltic Sea.
“This is a European mission made up of European partners, in support of a European country like Cyprus, and this is the context in which this Spanish frigate is there,” Bolaños told reporters. According to the Minister, the frigate Cristóbal Colón headed to Cyprus together with the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and other ships of the Greek Navy, as part of a protection and air defense mission. According to the Spanish Minister, the ship was already participating in a mission together with the French aircraft carrier and other fleets of European countries.
“I want to first clarify that this frigate was already in the Baltic and was participating in a mission as part of a naval force called Charles de Gaulle, where we were working together with other fleets from other countries and other frigates and ships from European partner countries,” he noted.
In the early hours of March 2 a Shahed-type drone struck military facilities in the British Bases, hosted in Akrotiri, in the southern tip of Cyprus, causing minor damage, amid regional turmoil following the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. The attack by the Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicle, believed to be linked to Hezbollah operating in Lebanon, prompted heightened security measures, while several countries, including Greece and France said they were deploying warships, aircraft and other air defence assets to shield Cyprus. The UK also announced the dispatch of a warship. Nicosia has reiterated in several occasions that it has no involvement in the wider Middle East conflict.