On the Spanish side of the base, in a nondescript office building, is a joint maritime operation under European command with European naval assets. Brussels does not yet have a navy, but it is increasingly aware that it has distinct maritime interests-and EU members are building the habit of working together at sea. destroyers stationed there have anti-ballistic missile systems to help shield Europe from strikes.īut there are stirrings of a different European approach, and Rota itself is the focal point for a maritime initiative that does not depend on the United States. Navy to protect international shipping lanes and to counter adversaries such as China and Russia. Even as maritime frictions mount in the Baltic, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, and the South China Sea, Europe leans on the U.S. Like most European navies, it tends to operate close to home and away from controversy. Once world-straddling, Spain’s navy is now modest in size and capability. In many respects, Rota is a physical manifestation of Europe’s still-heavy reliance on the U.S. The longtime allies have even divided up guard duty at the base: the Spanish military check visitors in, but it is Americans who wave them out. Spanish and American navy personnel mingle amicably in the towns and beaches near Rota. Spanish vessels are docked not far from four U.S. With the Cold War dominating the agenda, Washington was more than willing to link arms with Francisco Franco’s staunchly anti-communist dictatorship.Īlmost 70 years after it began operating-and through Spain’s transformation into a modern democracy-Rota has endured as the cornerstone of Spanish-U.S. The Eisenhower administration saw Rota as a valuable perch on the open Atlantic, near the critical strait, with easy access to the Mediterranean Sea. A quiet fishing village for much of its history, Rota became home in the 1950s to a sprawling Spanish naval base with a large U.S. ROTA, Spain-On Spain’s southern coast, situated between the Strait of Gibraltar and the Portuguese border, lies the town of Rota.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |