• Budget: Ten years of defense cuts
What is the reason for your visit to Spain? The commander of the European command will make his annual conference with all his generals in Rota. And I came to Madrid to pay my respects to the new Jemad, General Villarroya.What takes more sleep, the north or the south of his military competence? My command comes from the north to the North Pole, from the west from the half of the Atlantic, in the east to the beaches of Crimea and in the south to the Cape of Good Hope, half the world. It is essential to ensure maritime traffic through all these waters, keeping the roads safe and open is basic: it is about 90% of world traffic. The security of the Black Sea, the Baltic and the Mediterranean is included in my command. I am also an operational commander of NATO forces in Iraq and, of course, an operational commander of the entire southern flank. I have 15 Spanish officers attached to that office who show Spain's interest in the southern flank, Russia and the daily incidents of tension and collision at the border, mainly by air. Can the tension grow? The situation of negative Baltic incidents between NATO or US and Russian forces has improved considerably in recent times. But two weeks ago there was a fairly close encounter between a Russian intelligence attainment ship (a spy ship) and a Farralug-class destroyer, which was too close, less than 60 yards away. In the Arabian Sea. Do you think it was a provocation? It was an irresponsible maneuver. Completely unacceptable. Irresponsible behavior, completely unacceptable. We have rules of confrontation between the navies of different countries and a code on the high seas. It was an irresponsible incident. Do you think it was an isolated event? It is an event that alters a situation that had improved between the different marinas, both in air and at sea. There is a mechanism to talk with the Russians once a year. An incident analysis committee that has been maintained since 1917: 'Incidents at sea', and are discussed between different marinas. There we will deal with this incident. Do you consider that the quotas in the border areas with the Russian territories should be increased? In November 2018, the greatest maneuvers were carried out since World War II. Spain participated with 1,800 men, seven planes and two ships. In total, 50,000 soldiers, 265 aircraft, 70 ships, 10 vehicles of all types, all in Norway participated. 29 nations of the alliance plus two guests (Sweden and Finland). It is about defending and deterring the Euroatlantic theater of operations. This exercise was designed to deter any enemy of the Alliance, it was a very direct message to the Russian Federation. We show that we can move the team of seven brigades in a few days. And I was glad that Spain was there. How would you define Spain's military collaboration with the US? Excellent. Our relationship of the navies in Rota is solid. Americans love their stay in Rota. The Spanish also respect the US military. The communities are united. Part of that relationship is the approximately $ 275 million that the US invests in the Rota base. Part is spent on the maintenance of the four ships that are there by the Spanish company Navantia, which is one of the best in ship repairs. In addition, the cadets of the naval academy in the US, when they conclude as their training and are official graduates of the US, the best, can choose the destinations. Rota positions are sold by themselves, they are the first requested. We have the Marines at the base of Morón, which represents another 50 million direct, impact investment in the area.The Sahel is becoming the hottest area on the planet, increasingly uncontrolled: terrorism, Mali, Nigeria ... Is it the great threat of the Mediterranean? We have several concerns in Africa: Al Shabab in Somalia / Kenya. ISIS has spread to East Africa and continues to grow. The wider area of ​​the Sahel is a big concern, where the French are. Boko Haram terrorizes northern Nigeria. There are several bags of terrorism in that area that convince me, as well as the Spaniards, that the southern flank is a serious problem. Too many international training missions? Can the area be demanding more direct intervention? I have three jobs. Commander of US naval forces in Europe, commander of US naval forces in Africa and commander of NATO forces. The US is carrying out many such operations in Africa. These operations have been very successful but unfortunately a US soldier and two contractors have died. which demonstrates the danger in the area. Broken is the end of the southern border. Is there a forecast to modify the bilateral agreements and increase the current quota? I have now four destroyers assigned to Rota who can fulfill all kinds of missions entrusted in the area. I deeply believe in the transatlantic area of ​​operations and we must not forget that Rota is the end of the bridge between the United States and Europe. It is the point of arrival of that bridge. That is why Rota is essential. More important, even, that an increase in troops in Rota is that the Government of Spain invests more in Defense. The investment is below 1% of GDP. The agreement between the allies of the Alliance is to increase the budget up to 2%. Spain has to increase its defense budget and thus contribute to the budget of all allies.

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