With political and diplomatic turbulence in the world, NATO must prepare to protect the Mediterranean Sea. This is the opinion of Gonzalo Vázquez, associate researcher at the Naval War Superior School, who says that unlike many allies, Spain does not currently have a specialized coast -up service to protect its waters. “Current services lack a unified command, often, they are poorly equipped to perform their functions effectively. “
In statements to the environment the expert says since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, The alliance focuses its attention on its eastern flank and the Baltic Seawhere attacks have occurred against underwater infrastructure. And, despite receiving less attention, “the security scene in the Mediterranean region is also experiencing a significant transformation.”
In this sense, “the Mediterranean has re -roamed like a mass of dispute water.” Among the “more pressing” security challenges For the Spanish Navy are: the protection of critical underwater infrastructure, and especially in the south, the prevention of migratory flows and smuggling of drugs and weapons.
To this is added the threat that the call represents Dark fleet Russian These “ships participated in illegal operations to avoid sanctions when trying to avoid several aspects of maritime regulation and insurance provisions.” “Spain is very vulnerable to environmental disasters given the high traffic of ships of the fleet in its coasts.”
The researcher believes that, in Spain, one of the most maritime nations in Europe, “political elites have traditionally neglected this predisposition in favor of a very contradictory continental mentality, which prevents them from taking advantage of all the opportunities that the sea could provide to its prosperity. “
The publication reiterates that on the national coasts, the “variety of actors and institutions” in charge of protecting the waters supposes “A waste of efforts and resources that, otherwise, could be managed in a much more efficient and efficient way”. In this way, today, the Navy is responsible for the surveillance and security of all maritime spaces, while the Maritime Civil Guard service “does the same” in judicial and administrative matters.
“Spain should explore the creation of a coastal guard with a model similar to that of the United States,” says Vázquez in the middle. An opinion that he shares with Francisco Romerowhich believes that such an institution should be placed under the operational command of the Navy.
The foundation of this maritime body “would allow greater interoperability between the services of allied canacons on the southern flank of NATO. This, in turn, would benefit the alliance by supporting police operations such as the Operation active effort (OAE) “. The latter has provided, since its creation in 2016, a significant presence along the southern flank of the Alliance.
