The US will not be able to exceed 4,250 military personnel in Rota despite the increase of two ships

"Contributing significantly to regional stability and common security in Africa, Europe and the Middle East" and "contributing further to the ballistic missile defense system of the Atlantic Alliance" are the objectives of the agreement signed on Monday by the Spanish Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, and the US ambassador in Madrid, Julissa Reynoso, according to the document to which EL PAÍS has had access.

The text, entitled "Agreement relating to the deployment of two additional ships of the United States Navy at the naval base of Rota (Cádiz) for the development of the cooperation established by the Second Protocol of Amendment to the Defense Cooperation Agreement between the Kingdom of Spain and the United States of America", It consists of a preamble and three articles.

"The Government of Spain," Article 1 says, "authorizes the stationing of two other AEGIS vessels [referring to missile destroyers equipped with the Aegis combat system] of the United States Navy and their crews at the Rota naval base subject to the same conditions as the four [...] already parked."

The main limitation is contained in Article 2, which provides: "The Government of the United States undertakes that any increase in United States military or civilian personnel at the Rota naval base resulting from the execution of this Agreement shall be carried out without exceeding the total level of authorized permanent personnel" in Annex 2 to the Convention.

That is, although the four destroyers already deployed in Rota have 1,200 crew members and the two new ones will increase this figure to a total of 1,800, the United States will not be able to exceed the ceiling currently established, which attributes to the naval base of Rota 4,250 military and 1,000 American civilians. The agreement allows many other US military units to be housed in Rota, such as 5 administrative aircraft, 13 reconnaissance aircraft and 18 maritime patrol aircraft, as well as a construction battalion, a communications station, an airmail terminal, a security company, a criminal investigation service, a contracting unit and a maintenance unit. Despite this, the permanently stationed US troops are far from the planned ceiling and the six missile launchers will never be deployed at the same time – there will always be at least one patrolling or in transit and another in maintenance – so it will not be easy to exceed that limit either, despite the substantial increase.

To justify that this reinforcement of the US military presence in Spain is not submitted to congressional approval, unlike the previous three (2002, 2012 and 2015), the agreement refers to Article 3 of the Second Protocol of Amendment, which authorized the deployment of the first four ships in Rota, which allows "to conclude administrative agreements in development" of the same. In addition, the text alleges that the increase "does not change the missions, nor the type of forces already authorized, nor does it modify the level of military and civilian personnel permanently authorized at the Rota naval base." Minister Robles has asked to appear before the Defense Commission of Congress to report on its contents.

As reported by the Ministry of Defense, it is expected that the first of the two new destroyers of the Arleigh Burke class, with 300 crew members each, will arrive in Spain in 2024; and the second, "in the coming years", without specifying a date.

The preamble to the agreement explains that, in addition to "contributing to regional stability and security in Africa, Europe and the Middle East" – until now its other mission as a naval component of NATO's anti-missile shield was highlighted, leaving this in the background – the purpose of the two countries is to deepen and strengthen their defense cooperation, by "expanding the capabilities of the Rota naval base".

The agreement entered into force immediately after its signature on Monday and will remain in force until the current agreement, signed in 1988 and subject to automatic annual extensions if neither party denounces it, is repealed. The current extension expires in May 2024.

The signing of the agreement – which was authorized by the Council of Ministers on January 17 – comes four days before the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, is received on Friday by the President of the United States, Joe Biden, at the White House. For his part, the head of Spanish diplomacy, José Manuel Albares, will meet a day earlier in Washington with his US counterpart, Antony Blinken, in what constitutes a relaunch at the highest level of bilateral relations.

The defense cooperation agreement between Spain and the United States was signed in December 1988, with a validity of eight years, but the first two times it was reformed (to regulate the actions in Spain of the secret services of the US Navy and Air Force and to include the arrival of the first four destroyers to Rota) its validity was extended. extending until May 21, 2021. Since then, article 59.2 of the agreement has applied, according to which it is automatically extended for annual periods if, six months before its conclusion, none of the parties denounces it.

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