Spain and the United States will sign in the first months of this year the agreement that will regulate the deployment at the Rota naval base (Cádiz) of two new missile-launching destroyers, announced by the US President, Joe Biden, and the head of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, during the visit that the former made to Madrid in June, on the occasion of the NATO summit, according to government sources.
It is expected that the first of these two ships, with 300 crew members each, will arrive in Spain in 2024 and the second, the following year or in 2026, according to the schedule advanced to the Spanish authorities by the US Department of Defense.
Although the incorporation of the two new destroyers, which are added to the four already stationed at the Cádiz base, will mean increasing the presence of the US Navy in Spain by 50%, the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs, directly involved in the negotiation They consider that it does not require reforming the current defense agreement with the US and can be done through a mere administrative agreement.
For this reason, unless there is a change in criteria, it is not planned to submit the increase in troops to the ratification of the Cortes, contrary to what was done with the previous three amendments to the agreement —in the years 2002, 2012 and 2015—, but only inform them of it.
This decision will avoid the image of the two government partners voting divided in Parliament —Unidas Podemos has already announced that it will not support the reinforcement of the US military presence in Spain—, although it will have to be approved by the Council of Ministers, where both they sit down
However, not addressing the reform of the military agreement with Washington will have a collateral effect: the validity of the current text, which expired in May 2021, cannot be extended.
The defense cooperation agreement between Spain and the US was signed in December 1988, valid for eight years, but the first two times it was amended (to regulate the activities in Spain of the secret services of the Navy and the United States Air Force and to include the arrival of the first four destroyers in Rota) its validity was extended for the same period, extending until May 21, 2021. Since then, article 59.2 of the agreement applies, according to which it is extended automatically for annual periods if, six months before its end, neither party denounces it.
As it was not denounced before November 21, its validity has been extended until May 2024.
Having the US Armed Forces as tenants with a contract that expires every year can cause legal uncertainty, but the sources consulted maintain that Washington knows that Spain is a solid ally and that this link will not change even if the ruling party does. .
From a legal point of view, the matter is controversial, since the bilateral agreement has the status of an international treaty for Spain (although not for the United States) and requires the approval of the Cortes.
The enumeration of the units stationed in Rota appears in an annex, but this is part of the agreement itself, as specified in article 69.1, which is why the arrival of the four ships was submitted for ratification by Congress.
However, the second amendment protocol, the one that authorized the deployment of the destroyers, states that the two countries "may enter into administrative agreements in development" thereof, "as necessary, provided that these agreements are in accordance with the agreement and with the respective national laws.
Government sources interpret that, by virtue of this article, an "administrative agreement" could serve as an umbrella for the reinforcement of Rota (Cádiz).
Other sources add that, in any case, the ceiling for US personnel established in the agreement for the Rota base would not be exceeded: 4,250 soldiers and 1,000 civilians.
In September 2021, the actual presence of Americans was limited to 3,200 soldiers and 450 civilians, 70% of what was authorized.
Nor would the six destroyers ever be simultaneously in Rota, they add, since there is always more than one sailing or in dry dock, due to breakdown or maintenance.
If the Government chose to submit the arrival of the new destroyers to Congress, it would not be able to count on some investiture partners and would probably depend on the PP for its approval.
Although it is unthinkable that Alberto Núñez Feijóo would boycott military cooperation with Washington, the bridges between the Executive and the main opposition party are broken and mistrust prevails, even in matters of State.
Beyond the political debate, there is the economic one.
The increase in the number of destroyers will mean more work for the Navantia shipyards, to which the
Navy
has awarded the maintenance of its ships in Rota for a maximum of 822 million euros until 2028.
Four more modern destroyers and with 'taps'
The four Arleigh Burke-class destroyers arrived in Rota between February 2014 ―the first of which was the
USS Donald Cook―
and September 2015 ―the
USS Carney
it was the last one-.
Equipped with the Aegis combat system, they form the naval component of the anti-missile shield that NATO approved to put into operation in 2010 to protect itself from a hypothetical attack with ballistic missiles from countries such as Iran and North Korea (at that time Russia was still considered a partner), and includes missile-launching ground bases in Poland and Romania and a radar in Turkey.
However, that is not the only mission entrusted to them by the Pentagon: they frequently carry out surveillance and deterrence patrols in the Black Sea and, in April 2017, two of these ships launched 59 Tomahawk missiles in retaliation for the use of chemical weapons. by the Bashar al-Assad regime.
As of May 2020, the
Navy
it has replaced the destroyers initially stationed at Rota by four more modern ones:
USS Arleigh Burke
,
USS Roosevelt
,
USS Paul Ignatius
, and
USS Bulkeley
.
After the arrival of the latter, in August, the replacement of the ships of the Destroyer Squadron 60 that make up the Advanced Deployment Naval Forces in Europe (FDNF-E) has been completed.
The new ships, unlike the previous ones, have a helicopter on board, which led to the deployment in June at the Rota base of a Naval Attack Helicopter Squadron (HSM-79), known as the Griffins (Griffins, the creature mythical with lion claws and eagle wings), equipped with MH-60R Seahawk aircraft.
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits
Keep reading
I'm already a subscriber
