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<p>I refer the noble Lord to the statement I made to this House on Monday 7 March
(Official Report, column 1079). The Royal Navy has deployed Royal Fleet Auxiliary
(RFA) Mounts Bay and a Wildcat helicopter to support NATO activity in the Aegean Sea.
These will work alongside three Home Office vessels: VOS Grace, which has been deployed
since November; the cutter Protector, which is en route to the region; and a further
cutter that is expected to start operations later this month.</p><p> </p><p>In addition
to RFA Mounts Bay, there are five NATO ships on station at the moment. Canada, Germany,
Greece, Italy, and Turkey have each deployed a ship.</p><p> </p><p>NATO ships will
provide information to enable Greek and Turkish civilian authorities to intercept
migrant vessels and arrest traffickers. It is not an interdiction or search and rescue
operation, but RFA Mounts Bay would give assistance to any vessel it found in distress,
in accordance with international obligations.</p><p> </p><p>With regards to sufficiency,
we note the substantial contribution being made by the UK and other members of NATO,
but we always look to see what further contributions members of the Alliance can make.</p><p>
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