The recent US-led "Red Sea escort operation" has been a major cause of uproar, mainly due to frequent Houthi attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red Sea, and sometimes Western ships are not spared, after all, the Houthis have made it clear that as long as the ship has an Israeli shareholder, then it is also a target.
The Red Sea is also the shortest sea communication route between Asia and Europe, and if you don't go from here, you will have to detour the Cape of Good Hope, which is obviously enough for Western countries to drink a pot, so the United States began to form a "Red Sea Escort Alliance" to pull allies to jointly maintain the security of the Red Sea and show off its muscles in front of the Houthis.
The original plan of the United States is very beautiful, after all, there are many people and great strength, the United States is making trouble all over the world, in fact, it can't take too much strength to defend the Red Sea alone, and pulling allies can also share the cost of interception, there have been media reports before, the Houthis have 1 drone of less than 2,000 US dollars, the United States may have to use 2.1 million US dollars of missiles to intercept, it is simply a loss to grandma's house.
However, what the United States did not expect was that pulling people into the group can also cause problems, and there is a saying that a grain of rat droppings can spoil a pot of porridge, and this time the United States came in with a "bomb," and this country is Spain.
In fact, the "Red Sea Alliance" formed by the United States has not been smooth, after all, the Houthis really dare to fight, many countries do not want to be the first bird, Australia is the first country to run away, but unlike Australia, Australia is a good gathering with the United States, and Spain is making the United States' face extremely ugly.
Because Spain said at the beginning that it would not participate for the time being, the United States may have felt embarrassed by Spain, and directly wrote Spain's name in a statement without Spain's consent, claiming that Spain had agreed to join the United States' "Red Sea escort operation." After all, in the eyes of the United States, it was only a matter of time before Spain agreed.
According to AFP, the Spanish Ministry of Defense has now clearly told the United States that Spain will not participate in the "maritime alliance" formed by the United States, and what makes the United States even more ugly is that Spain then said that it will only cooperate with the actions of the European Union or NATO, and the implication is that it will not listen to the orders of the United States anyway.
As early as the beginning of December, the Spanish government announced the expulsion of three American spies and asked the fourth spy to also leave Spain. Spanish officials confirmed that the United States had infiltrated Spanish intelligence agencies, and that Spain was outraged by the United States' actions and demanded an explanation from the United States.
In the eyes of the United States, how should we say this matter? It may be described as rare, after all, even if such a thing happened in the past, it was these allies who were monitored by the United States who found excuses to help the United States excuse themselves, like after South Korea exposed the fact that it was being monitored by the United States, Yoon Suk-yeol said that it was a little embarrassing, but it would not affect the trust between the United States and South Korea. Among the allies of the United States, who would embarrass the United States in person like Spain, and twice.
Perhaps, in the eyes of the United States, even if it does not explain the espionage incident, inviting Spain to join the "Red Sea Escort Alliance" is already a great face-saving thing for Spain, and Spain should enlarge the pattern.
However, the United States miscalculated this time, which may also reflect the fact that the United States is weak, and more and more countries have begun to dare to say no to the United States.
In addition, it is more embarrassing for the countries that still remain in the "Red Sea Escort Alliance" of the United States, perhaps some of them are countries diametrically opposed to Spain, that is, countries that are monitored by the United States, but do not dare to say no to the United States, and this time the United States' "Red Sea Escort Alliance", there are indeed 8 countries that ask for anonymity, and I don't know if there is such a reason?