Denmark to send frigate to U.S.-led task force in Red Sea

Denmark will send a frigate to participate in the U.S.-led Red Sea operation next month, the Danish Defence Minister said on Friday.

Several countries, led by the United States, on Dec. 19 agreed to patrol the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden to safeguard commercial shipping against attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the area.

"We are concerned about the serious situation unfolding in the Red Sea, where unprovoked attacks against civilian shipping continue," Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said in a statement.

Denmark will submit a resolution to parliament in January to contribute to the U.S.-led Operation Prosperity Guardian with a frigate that can be deployed from the end of January, the government added.

The U.S. says Prosperity Guardian is a defensive coalition of more than 20 nations to ensure billions of dollars worth of commerce can flow freely through a vital shipping chokepoint in Red Sea waters off Yemen.

Denmark on Dec. 20 said it would join the U.S.-led task force, sending one officer. The Nordic country previously had two officers stationed in the area as a part of the multinational Combined Maritime Forces, which aims to protect shipping lanes in the Red Sea region.