Romanian missile shield becomes “welcome contribution” to NATO defence

NATO has signalled that the new US-Romania anti-ballistic missile shield project will become a “welcome national contribution” to the defence architecture of the bloc

December 2010 - From the Print Edition

At the recent NATO Summit in Lisbon, which drew up a new strategy in the light of a post-Cold War world, the bloc argued that the proliferation of ballistic missiles poses “a real and growing threat” to the Euro-Atlantic area.
The admission that the Romanian-based missile shield will become part of the new NATO defence system places great responsibility on Romania as a strategic hub for collective defence.
President Traian Basescu said the next phase of US-Romanian negotiations - identifying where in Romania the missile shield will be located - will be “accelerated” following the summit.
NATO plans to switch its anti-ballistic missile programme – which currently protects NATO deployed forces, to also cover the population and territory of its member states.
The bloc wants to avoid duplication with EU and other bilateral defence systems, indicating that a shared missile defence system between the EU, US and NATO is becoming more probable.
The anti-ballistic threat is believed to mainly come from Iran, although North Korea and possibly Syria have also been cited as potential threats.
Earlier this year the USA shifted its missile defence strategy from using sites in Poland and the Czech Republic to Romania, where it intends to host an anti-ballistic missile system by 2015.
This pioneering land-based system of 24 Standard Missile - 3 (SM - 3) missiles aims to enhance security for the region and the US against the threat of mid-range missiles, which security analysts have argued could - theoretically - be fitted with a nuclear payload.
A land-based SM-3 installation in Romania is part of Barack Obama’s ‘Phased, Adaptive Approach’ (PAA) against a missile threat, which will be accompanied by a new anti-missile base in northern Europe by 2018. A radar is also part of the system, which Romania will not host.
At the Summit, NATO also stated it would continue to explore opportunities for missile defence co-operation with Russia, by inviting Russia to “explore jointly” the potential for linking current and planned missile defence systems.
Under the new NATO-Russia Council (NRC), the two blocs will agree “to discuss” pursuing missile defence cooperation due to the ballistic missile threat.
However there is strong disagreement between NATO and Russia over frozen conflicts in the Black Sea region – including in Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia and Transnistria in the Republic of Moldova.
NATO is committed to respecting the borders of Georgia, while Russia has recognised the independence of Georgia’s breakaway republics, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Romania also welcomed the restart on relations between Russia and NATO, but Basescu said that a “legal solution” needed to be found for Transnistria and Georgia, with the clear statement from Russia that its declarations of “good intentions must be backed by action,” according to Basescu.
NATO has not invited Georgia to join the bloc and remains in a “strategic partnership” with the country. Meanwhile Romania remains a firm supporter of expansion in NATO - particularly in the west Balkans and Black Sea zone. ■