EU foreign ministers on Monday approved the deployment of an EU naval mission to protect shipping from Houthi militants in the Red Sea. “It’s a mission in the Red Sea and up to the Gulf [of Aden] to contribute to the freedom of navigation,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters after the ministers’ meeting. Called Aspides after the Greek word for “shields,” the naval mission involves sending European warships and airborne early warning systems to the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and surrounding waters. Aspides vessels will have orders only to fire on the militants if they attack fi…