Refugee crisisNATO fleet deployed in Aegean Sea to stop refugees coming from Turkey
NATO has deployed its fleet to the Aegean Sea in an effort to end the flow of refugees crossing from Turkey in order to enter the EU zone. The deployment, announced yesterday, will involve warships, rather than coast guard boars, meet refugee boats outside Greece’s territorial waters.
Ships of the NATO fleet on maneuvers in the Adriatic // Source: commons.wikimedia.org
NATO has deployed its fleet to the Aegean Sea in an effort to end the flow of refugees crossing from Turkey in order to enter the EU zone.
The deployment, announced yesterday, will involve warships, rather than coast guard boars, meet refugee boats outside Greece’s territorial waters. NATO secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said naval action would be taken “without delay.”
The BBC reports that the deployment follows a declaration by Greece that Turkey is a “safe third country” – meaning that Greece, aided by NATO ships, can now legally turn back boats carrying asylum-seekers since they no longer face risks in Turkey. The declaration also allows Greece to deport those asylum-seekers who have arrived across the Mediterranean – and do so without a lengthy and involved legal process.
In a Wednesday press conference, Stoltenberg insisted the deployment of NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 was “not about stopping or pushing back refugee boats.”
The NATO fleet includes warships from several NATO countries, and is now under German command. The fleet “will be tasked to conduct reconnaissance, monitoring and surveillance of the illegal crossings in the Aegean sea in cooperation with relevant authorities,” Stoltenberg said.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said: “There is now a criminal syndicate that is exploiting these poor people and this is an organized smuggling operation.
“Targeting that is the way that the greatest effect can be had … That is the principal intent of this.”
NATO has also announced it was stepping up its counterterror efforts on the border between Turkey and Syria.
Stoltenberg said tat following a request from the United States, NATO would “step up” its efforts in the international coalition against ISIS.
“We have just agreed that NATO will provide support to assist with the refugee and migrant crisis,” Stoltenberg said. “The goal is to participate in the international efforts to stem the illegal trafficking and illegal migration in the Aegean.”
